Charles William Bernard Clare (born 16 December 1991) is a professional rugby union player for

Leicester Tigers Leicester Tigers (officially Leicester Football Club) are a professional rugby union club based in Leicester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1880 and since 1892 plays its hom ...

in Premiership Rugby. His principal position is hooker. Previously he played for

Bedford Blues Bedford Blues are a rugby union club in the town of Bedford, England, currently playing in The RFU Championship. Bedford is one of the few towns in England where the rugby club is better supported than the football team. The Blues are a semi-pro ...

in the RFU Championship, and for Northampton Saints in Premiership Rugby.

Career

The

hooker Hooker may refer to: People * Hooker (surname) Places Antarctica * Mount Hooker (Antarctica) * Cape Hooker (Antarctica) * Cape Hooker (South Shetland Islands) New Zealand * Hooker River * Mount Hooker (New Zealand) in the Southern Alps * Hoo ...

learned his trade at

where he was a part of their academy; he also spent time out at Nottingham, Jersey Reds and Loughborough Students RUFC on loan during his five years at the Midlands side. Following a serious shoulder injury, Clare made the move to RFU Championship side

in 2013. The hooker impressed at the Midlands side in their progression to the top four of the second tier of English rugby but made his departure into the

Aviva Premiership Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition. The Premiership has consisted of thirteen clubs since 2021, and is the ...

in the summer of 2016. Clare has also represented

RFU Championship XV The RFU Championship XV is an invitational rugby union team composed of English qualified players from the second tier competition, the RFU Championship. The team was originally formed for a one–off match against a strong Māori All Blacks team a ...

in 2014. Clare made his Premiership debut in the Saints first match of the season against

Bath Rugby Bath Rugby is a professional rugby union club in Bath, Somerset, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. Founded in 1865 as Bath Football Club, since 1894 the club has played at the Recreation Ground in the c ...

and made over 16 appearances for them. Clare helped the Saints' second team the Northampton Wanderers clinch the Aviva 'A' League title as they defeated Gloucester United to lift the trophy. He then went on to re-join

for the 2018–19 season, before signing for

on 6 May 2019. In 2022 Clare played in the Premiership Final as Leicester won their 11th title. Clare replaced starting hooker

Julian Montoya Julian may refer to: People * Julian (emperor) (331–363), Roman emperor from 361 to 363 * Julian (Rome), referring to the Roman gens Julia, with imperial dynasty offshoots * Saint Julian (disambiguation), several Christian saints * Julian (gi ...

in the 63rd minute.

References

1991 births Living people Bedford Blues players English rugby union players Leicester Tigers players Northampton Saints players Rugby union hookers Rugby union players from Norwich {{England-rugbyunion-bio-stub