Gloucester Rugby star man Mark Atkinson has been left in no-mans-land after being overlooked by England head coach Eddie Jones.
With the Six Nations well underway, Atkinson, who has become a mainstay of the Gloucester Rugby setup, was surprisingly not selected to face Scotland, Italy or Wales.
After travelling between camps, game time has been hard to come by for the 32 year-old who recently signed a new multi-year deal at Kingsholm. While he didn’t feature on the pitch, Atkinson was still involved in the matchday proceedings, conducting commentary for Gloucester’s 35-30 win over Northampton Saints last Saturday.
🙌 That work-rate from @FraserBalmain in the 79th minute!
— Gloucester Rugby (@gloucesterrugby) March 7, 2022
Complimentary words from @markatkinson_ for his teammate! pic.twitter.com/NxggVpED55
Gloucester head coach George Skivington admitted it has been a frustrating period for both the club and Atkinson himself.
“It’s not the period he would have wanted or that we would have wanted for him but it is what it is.
“Eddie (Jones) is going to do what he wants to do and he’s got to build the squad the way he wants to and that’s completely out of our control.
“What I do know is that when the boys are here, they’re very focused on Gloucester Rugby and that’s all I can concern myself with.”
Atkinson has made one appearance so far for England, coming off the bench in 69-3 win over Tonga in November 2021.
