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| Birth name | Reuben Arthur Hira Parkinson | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 19 July 1973 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Ōpōtiki, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 209 lb (95 kg; 14.9 st) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Notable relative(s) | Matua Parkinson (brother) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Reuben Arthur Hira Parkinson (born 19 July 1973) is a New Zealand rugby union player who played for Japan, with 10 caps and 0 points in aggregate. He played as centre.
Parkinson first played as a flanker, then became a midfielder when he moved to Dunedin. He then joined Otago playing 49 games in 1998, including a NPC title. In that year, he was also a New Zealand Maori trialist and also played for the Highlanders in the Super 14. In 1999, he joined the Hurricanes for six matches. [1]
He continued his rugby union career after moving to Japan, playing for Munakata Sanix Blues for five years. [2] [3]
Parkinson was also part of Japan's national team, first playing in Tokyo against Russia on 25 May 2003. [4] He also played at the 2003 World Cup with Hurricanes midfielder George Konia. Parkinson left Japan in 2005, following a final cap on 19 June against Ireland. He moved back to New Zealand in that year to play for the Bay of Plenty Steamers. [1] Like his brother, Matua also played for Sanix. [3]
His younger brother Matua Parkinson was also a Hurricanes team member since 2000, [1] as well as a former All Blacks Sevens team member. [3]
Japan Rugby League One is a rugby union competition in Japan. It is the highest level of professional rugby competition in the country. The Japan Rugby Football Union created the competition in 2003, by absorbing the Japan Company Rugby Football Championship, to drive up the overall standard and popularity of the sport and improve the results of the Japan national rugby union team. The chief architect of the league was Hiroaki Shukuzawa who strongly felt the urgency of improving Japanese domestic company rugby to a professional level which would allow Japan to compete more convincingly at Rugby World Cups.
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