Ben Atiga

Benjamin Alo Charles Atiga (born 5 May 1983 in Auckland) is a former New Zealand rugby union footballer who plays centre and fullback. Atiga is a product of Auckland Grammar School and became the 50th All Black that the school has produced. Atiga has 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. He has played one test for the All Blacks, against Tonga in the 2003 Rugby World Cup after being called into the squad as an injury replacement for Ben Blair.[1] He played for the Junior All Blacks in 2005 against Australia 'A' and in 2006 in the inaugural Pacific Nations Cup. Atiga played for Auckland in the NPC, winning 3 national titles and 1 title in the 2007 Air New Zealand Cup where Auckland went through an undefeated season, claiming the Ranfurly Shield in the same year. Atiga played for the Blues in Super Rugby, 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 Hurricanes in his return to top tier rugby. He subsequently played the 2011 ITM Cup with Otago.

In April 2012 he signed with Edinburgh Rugby for two seasons. At the beginning of the Edinburgh 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.