Christopher Arkwright (born 8 February 1959) is an English former professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

footballer who played in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. He played at representative level for

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, and at club level for St Helens as a or .

Playing career

St Helens

Arkwright played in St. Helens 0–16 defeat by

Warrington Warrington () is an industrial town in the Borough of Warrington, borough of the same name in Cheshire, England. The town sits on the banks of the River Mersey and was Historic counties of England, historically part of Lancashire. It is east o ...

in the 1982–83 Lancashire Cup Final during the 1982–83 season at

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Wigan Wigan ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. It is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its ad ...

on 23 October 1982, and played in the 28–16 victory over

in the

1984–85 Lancashire Cup 1984–85 was the seventy-second occasion on which the Lancashire Cup completion had been held. St. Helens won the trophy by beating Wigan by the score of 26–18. The match was played at Central Park, Wigan, (historically in the county of L ...

Final during the 1984–85 season at

on Sunday 28 October 1984. Arkwright played , and was

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

in St Helens' 18–19 defeat by Halifax in the 1986–87 Challenge Cup Final during the 1986–87 season at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

on 2 May 1987. Arkwright missed most of the 1988–89 season due to injury. He required a knee operation towards the end of the 1987–88 season, and suffered an injury to his other knee during his recovery while playing for the reserve team.

Runcorn Highfield

Arkwright was signed by Runcorn Highfield in October 1990. The transfer fee was set by a tribunal, with Runcorn paying Saints an initial £4,000, plus an additional £2,000 based on future appearances for the club. In April 1991, he was appointed as player-coach at the club, but quit the role a few months later. He returned to the club (now known as Highfield) as a player in December 1991. He took charge for a second spell as coach in 1994. He resigned at the end of the 1994–95 season.

International honours

Arkwright won a

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

for

while at St Helens in 1984 against Wales (sub), and won

s for

while at St Helens in 1985 against New Zealand (sub) (2 matches).

Personal life

Arkwright is the son of the St Helens and

of the 1960s, John Arkwright, Jr.

and the grandson of the rugby league footballer, John "Jack" Arkwright.

References

External links

Profile at saints.org.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arkwright, Christopher 1959 births Living people England national rugby league team players English rugby league players Great Britain national rugby league team players Great Britain under-24 national rugby league team players Lancashire rugby league team players Liverpool City (rugby league) players Liverpool City coaches Rugby league centres Rugby league five-eighths Rugby league locks Rugby league players from St Helens, Merseyside St Helens R.F.C. captains St Helens R.F.C. players 20th-century English sportsmen