Roger Clarke 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 ...
administrator from
Royal Tunbridge Wells
Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in Kent, England, southeast of central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the High Weald, whose sandstone geology is exemplified by the rock formation High Rocks. ...
,
Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
.
Personal life
Clarke was educated at Royal Tunbridge Wells
Grammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...
,
The Skinners' School
The Skinners' School (formally The Skinners' Company's Middle School for Boys and commonly known as Skinners'), is a British Grammar School with academy status for boys located in the town of Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England. Established in ...
where he also played rugby union for the school. Clarke then went on the
University of Cambridge
, mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts.
Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge.
, established =
, other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
, whom he also played rugby for, where he graduated with a geography degree.
Professional career
Clarke then became a geography teacher until, after taking government-recommended experience in industry, he left teaching to work in various trade federations and dairy companies before becoming the chief executive of the National Federation of Retail Newsagents. As chief executive, he modernised the National Federation of Retail Newsagents by founding their commercial section and creating a
symbol group
A symbol group is a form of franchise of convenience shops, found primarily in the United Kingdom and Ireland. They do not own or operate shops, but act as suppliers to independent shops which then trade under a common banner.
Unlike other form ...
for them called Quix.
Rugby administration
Clarke is the current chairman of
Tunbridge Wells Rugby Football Club.
He is also chairman of the Kent Rugby Football Union. In 2013, after responding to an advert in the ''
Daily Telegraph
Daily or The Daily may refer to:
Journalism
* Daily newspaper, newspaper issued on five to seven day of most weeks
* ''The Daily'' (podcast), a podcast by ''The New York Times''
* ''The Daily'' (News Corporation), a defunct US-based iPad new ...
'', Clarke was appointed by the
Rugby Football Union
The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the Sports governing body, national governing body for rugby union in England. It was founded in 1871, and was the sport's international governing body prior to the formation of what is now known as World Rugby ...
's chairman
Bill Beaumont
Sir William Blackledge Beaumont, (born 9 March 1952 in Chorley, Lancashire, England) is a former rugby union player, and was captain of the England rugby union team, earning 34 caps. His greatest moment as captain was the unexpected 1980 Grand Sl ...
to become the chairman of "Area 3" (encompassing the counties of Kent,
Sussex
Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...
,
Surrey
Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...
and
Essex
Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...
) which would develop a legacy plan as part of the Rugby Football Union's intent to develop the sport of rugby union in the wake of the
2015 Rugby World Cup
The 2015 Rugby World Cup was the eighth Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial rugby union world championship. The tournament was hosted by England from 18 September to 31 October. Of the 20 countries competing in the World Cup in 2011, there was onl ...
due to be held in England.
Clarke was appointed alongside former players of the
England national 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 ...
and the
British and Irish Lions
The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The Lions are a test side and most often select players who have already played for their national ...
,
Fran Cotton
Francis Edward Cotton (born 3 January 1947) is a former rugby union prop forward who played for England and the British Lions. His clubs included Coventry R.F.C. and Sale. After retiring, he remained in rugby administration and founded a clo ...
and
Peter Wheeler. In 2013, Clarke said that he would like to see some of the legacy money invested in grassroots rugby facilities.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clarke, Roger
Living people
Alumni of the University of Cambridge
Rugby union chairmen and investors
English rugby union administrators
People educated at The Skinners' School
Year of birth missing (living people)
Place of birth missing (living people)
Schoolteachers from Kent
People from Royal Tunbridge Wells