Ross Michael "Mike" Parkinson (30 May 1948 – 17 January 2009) was a New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 rugby union

Rugby union

Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...

 player. Playing as a midfield back, Parkinson represented Poverty Bay

Poverty Bay Rugby Football Union

The Poverty Bay Rugby Football Union, which governs rugby union within the Gisborne region surrounding Poverty Bay in New Zealand, was formed in 1890....

 at a provincial level, and was a member of the New Zealand national side, the All Blacks

All Blacks

The New Zealand men's national rugby union team, known as the All Blacks, represent New Zealand in what is regarded as its national sport....

. He represented New Zealand in 20 international matches, seven of them at full test level, from 1972 to 1973. Parkinson died on 17 January 2009 while on holiday in Northland.

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