Gary Clarke is a New Zealand former

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...

footballer who represented

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

in the 1968 World Cup.

Playing career

Clarke played for the New Zealand Schoolboys' side in 1956. Clarke played for Papanui in the

Canterbury Rugby League Canterbury Rugby League is the regional body that administers rugby league in Canterbury, New Zealand. CRL manages local competitions from senior level down to age group competitions. Canterbury Rugby League also manages the Canterbury rugby lea ...

competition and represented

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of ...

.Coffey, John. ''Canterbury XIII'', Christchurch, 1987. He was first selected for the

New Zealand national rugby league team The New Zealand national rugby league team ( Māori: Tīma rīki motu Aotearoa) has represented New Zealand in rugby league since 1907. Administered by the New Zealand Rugby League, they are commonly known as the Kiwis, after the native bird of ...

in 1966. Clarke went on to play three test matches for the Kiwis, including at the 1968 World Cup.CLARKE, John Gary - 1966, 1968
''nzleague.co.nz'' In 1969 he was selected for the South Island in the inter-island match.

Coaching career

Clarke was Papanui's

player-coach A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the sq ...

when they won the 1971 and 1972 Canterbury championships. He assisted Woolston in 1973 and later was the head coach of Sydenham in 1977 and 1978. In 1975 he was the coach of

. He was a Canterbury selector between 1974 and 1983. He also served as a New Zealand selector between 1983 and 1984.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clarke, Gary Living people New Zealand rugby league administrators New Zealand rugby league players New Zealand national rugby league team players Canterbury rugby league team players Papanui Tigers players South Island rugby league team players Rugby league halfbacks New Zealand rugby league coaches Canterbury rugby league team coaches Year of birth missing (living people)