Benjamin Alo Charles Atiga (born 5 May 1983 in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

) is a former

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

player and current wellbeing coach. He played

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and fullback, and his coaching focuses on player welfare.

Early life and education

Atiga's Samoan grandfather played in the first Samoan international team and others in his family also played international rugby for

Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...

and New Zealand. He was educated at

Auckland Grammar School Auckland Grammar School (often simplified to Auckland Grammar, or Grammar), established in 1869, is a State school, state, Day school, day and Boarding school, boarding secondary school for Single-sex education, boys in Auckland, New Zealand. ...

and became the 50th All Black that the school has produced. Atiga won world titles for New Zealand at Under-19 (2001 and 2002) and Under-21 level in 2003 and as captain in 2004, during his junior career. He was also part of the Under-21 team in 2002 where they placed 3rd in the tournament.

Playing career

Atiga played one test for the

New Zealand national rugby union team The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks, is the representative men's national team in the sport of rugby union for the nation of New Zealand, which is considered the country's national sport. Famed for th ...

, against Tonga in the

2003 Rugby World Cup The 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth Rugby World Cup and was won by England national rugby union team, England. Originally planned to be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, all games were shifted to Australia following a contractual dispu ...

after being called into the squad as an injury replacement for Ben Blair. He played for the

Junior All Blacks The All Blacks XV is the second national rugby union team of New Zealand, after the All Blacks. New Zealand's second national team has had numerous names in its history: Junior All Blacks, New Zealand XV, New Zealand A, New Zealand B, All Blacks ...

in 2005 against Australia 'A' and in 2006 in the inaugural

Pacific Nations Cup The Pacific Nations Cup is an international rugby union competition held between Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Canada, Japan and the United States. First held in 2006, the tournament is intended to strengthen the Tier 2 rugby teams by providing competitiv ...

. Atiga played for

in the NPC, winning three national titles and one title in the 2007

Air New Zealand Cup An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosphere ...

, where Auckland went through an undefeated season, claiming the

Ranfurly Shield The Ranfurly Shield, colloquially known as the Log o' Wood, is a trophy in New Zealand's domestic rugby union competition. First played for in 1904, the Shield is based on a challenge system. The holding union must defend the shield in challenge ...

in the same year. Atiga played for the

Blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

Super Rugby Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It has previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Super Rugby started as the S ...

, and in 2007 he joined the All Blacks Sevens team at the end of the Blues' season. After captaining Auckland in the 2008 ITM Cup season, Atiga made the decision to take a break from professional rugby. After his break from rugby, in April 2010 it was announced that he would rejoin the Auckland Rugby Union and the Auckland Blues. After a season in Auckland, Atiga was signed by the Highlanders for the 2011 season, following numerous injuries in the squad. He started from the bench against the

Hurricanes A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its locat ...

in his return to top tier rugby. He subsequently played the 2011 ITM Cup with Otago. In April 2012, he signed with

Edinburgh Rugby Edinburgh Rugby (formerly Edinburgh Reivers, Edinburgh Gunners) is one of the two professional rugby union teams from Scotland. The club competes in the United Rugby Championship, along with the Glasgow Warriors, its oldest rival. Edinburgh play ...

for two seasons. At the beginning of the season, Atiga was diagnosed with degenerative arthritis in his hip. He played both seasons with Edinburgh and retired from professional rugby at the end of the 2013–2014 season due to the joint disease.

Player wellbeing

Atiga has been open about his struggles with wellbeing whilst playing. As of 2019, he works with Scotland Rugby in the area of player wellbeing.

References

External links

*
Blues profile
1983 births Living people New Zealand international rugby union players World Rugby Awards winners Auckland rugby union players Otago rugby union players Edinburgh Rugby players Rugby union players from Auckland Rugby union centres Rugby union fullbacks People educated at Auckland Grammar School New Zealand sportspeople of Samoan descent New Zealand sportspeople of Tongan descent Blues (Super Rugby) players Highlanders (rugby union) players New Zealand expatriate rugby union players in Scotland Ponsonby RFC players 2003 Rugby World Cup players New Zealand rugby union players {{NewZealand-rugbyunion-bio-stub