Jon Clarke (born 22 October 1983 in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

, England) is a

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

player for

Yorkshire Carnegie Leeds Tykes (formerly Leeds RUFC, Leeds Carnegie and Yorkshire Carnegie) is an English rugby union club in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, playing in the National League 1. The club was founded as Headingley FC, but renamed in 1991 when it j ...

in the

RFU Championship The RFU Championship is an English rugby union competition comprising twelve clubs. It is the second level of men’s English rugby and is played by both professional and semi-professional players. The competition has existed since 1987, when ...

. He plays primarily as a

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

and also occasionally at full-back or on the

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expres ...

. He has represented the

England Saxons England A is England's men's second national rugby union team. The team has previously been known by a number of names, such as England B, Emerging England and, most recently, England Saxons. England A play a key role in the development of emer ...

team and many have suggested he should be given a chance in the full

England rugby union team The England national rugby union team represents England in men's international rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. England have won the championship on 29 occasion ...

with other young players like

Mathew Tait Mathew James Murray Tait (born 6 February 1986) is a retired English rugby union player who gained 38 caps for between 2005–2010, including starting in the 2007 Rugby World Cup Final; and played 279 club games for Newcastle Falcons, Sal ...

, Dan Hipkiss and

James Simpson-Daniel James David Simpson-Daniel (born 30 May 1982 in Stockton-on-Tees) is a former English rugby union footballer who played wing or centre for Gloucester Rugby. He attended Red House School & Sedbergh School in the Yorkshire Dales, which has produce ...

. Clarke, born in Sheffield, has played a total of 165 games for the Saints and scored 32 tries. Clarke started his pro career as part of the all conquering Bristol Academy under Paul Hull. He was a tall long-striding and elusive player, excelling at full back for England Under 21s in a Grand Slam season. He moved to Franklin's Gardens in 2003 when Bristol were relegated. as part of the Saints Academy and had an immediate impact at first team level. He was named Young Player of the Year in 2003/04, normally operating at full back, before a switch to centre in 2005 saw his career hit new highs. Clarke was also hugely significant for Saints during the 2009/10 season with his nine tries in all competitions the second highest tally in the squad, and his play alongside James Downey earned him a call from the England Saxons for their Six Nations games against Ireland and Italy. After passing a century of Saints appearances in a

Heineken Cup The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Heineken Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a pre ...

match with Benetton Treviso, Clarke retained his place in the Saxons squad that went on to win the 2010 Churchill Cup in Denver, USA. In 2012, Jon moved to

Worcester Warriors Worcester Warriors Rugby Football Club is a professional rugby union club, based in Worcester, England, that is currently in Administration (law), administration and which has been suspended and will be relegated from Premiership Rugby, the top ...

where he enjoyed a memorable debut for Warriors as he scored a bonus-point try against

London Irish London Irish RFC is a professional rugby union club which competes in the Premiership, the top division of English rugby union. The club has also competed in the Anglo-Welsh Cup, the European Champions Cup and European Challenge Cup. While ...

in September 2012 and subsequently won the man-of-the-match award for his performance. On 27 December 2013, Clarke was loaned out to

who compete in the

for the remainder of the 2013–14 season. However, he soon signed a permanent deal to stay with the club.

References

External links

RFU Profile

Guinness Premiership profileNorthampton profile
*https://web.archive.org/web/20120827035957/http://www.warriors.co.uk/warriors/matchcentre/players_warriors_first_team.php?player=4935&includeref=dynamic 1983 births Living people English rugby union players Northampton Saints players Rugby union centres Rugby union players from Sheffield {{English-rugbyunion-bio-stub