Christopher Arkwright (born 8 February 1959) is an English former professional
rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...
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 northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
and
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a Historic counties of England, historic county, Ceremonial County, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significa ...
, 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 a town and unparished area in the Borough of Warrington, borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The populati ...
in the
1982–83 Lancashire Cup Final during the
1982–83 season at
Central Park
Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West Side, Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the List of New York City parks, fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban par ...
,
Wigan
Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...
on 23 October 1982, and played in the 28–16 victory over
Wigan
Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...
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
Central Park
Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West Side, Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the List of New York City parks, fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban par ...
,
Wigan
Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...
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 of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
in
St Helens' 18–19 defeat by
Halifax
Halifax commonly refers to:
*Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
* Halifax, West Yorkshire, England
*Halifax (bank), a British bank
Halifax may also refer to:
Places Australia
*Halifax, Queensland, a coastal town in the Shire of Hinchinbrook
*Halifax ...
in the
1986–87 Challenge Cup
The 1987 Challenge Cup was the 86th staging of rugby league's oldest knockout competition, the Challenge Cup. Known as the Silk Cut Challenge Cup for due to sponsorship from Silk Cut, the tournament featured clubs from the 1986-87 Rugby Football L ...
Final during the
1986–87 season at
Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...
,
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
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
Liverpool Stanley was a semi-professional rugby league club from Liverpool, England. It was renamed Liverpool City in 1951, but was otherwise unrelated to the original Liverpool club of the same name. The club's origins date back to 1880 whe ...
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. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...
for
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
while at St. Helens in 1984 against Wales (sub),
and won
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. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...
s for
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
while at St. Helens in 1985 against New Zealand (sub) (2 matches).
Personal life
Arkwright is the son of the St Helens and
Warrington
Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the Borough of Warrington, borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The populati ...
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
1959 births
Living people
Rugby league players from St Helens, Merseyside
English rugby league players
Rugby league centres
Rugby league five-eighths
Rugby league locks
St Helens R.F.C. captains
St Helens R.F.C. players
Liverpool City (rugby league) players
Liverpool City coaches
England national rugby league team players
Great Britain national rugby league team players
Lancashire rugby league team players
{{England-rugbyleague-bio-stub