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Clarke himself is among the cohort All black people Players of the Week make a big impression in NPC 2026.
Brothers Rob and Brady Rush helped out Northland win the Ranfurly Shield for the first time since 1979. Sione Molia and Riley Williams swapped tries in the recent county game against Wellington conflict. Kele Lasaqa plays regularly for Bay of Plenty. Scott Gregory and Fletcher Morgan take up places in Southland’s back line.
Clarke leads Taranaki’s back line at first five-eighth. This role was thrust upon him unexpectedly when Josh Jacomb was selected for the All Blacks tour of South Africa.
“It’s my first time leading the backline in a professional team. It’s been a great experience,” Clarke told RugbyPass.
“It took me a few weeks to get on my feet, get to know the system better and gain confidence.
“Josh and I are similar in that we both like to have crack. The biggest difference is that he’s more experienced. He’s quicker to find the right solution when needed, but I get that.”
“It’s great to see a lot of Sevens guys doing well in the NPC. We have a group chat where we talk about the competition. There’s a lot of banter.
“The biggest difference between seven and fifteen is the length of the game. I haven’t noticed a big difference in physical condition. In the weeks you train for a maximum of 45 minutes to prepare for a 14-minute game. In fifteen you can train for more than two hours and cover a lot more ground.”
In 2018 at St. Patrick’s College, Silverstream, Clarke played ten for the First XV that won the Wellington Premiership with 16 wins from 18 games. All Black Peter Lakai was a teammate. Clarke suggested Lakai would be a decent Player of the Week. Could Los Angeles in 2028 be the new frontier?
Between two broken ankles, a broken jaw and numerous hamstring injuries, Clarke played for Manawata.
In 2023, Clarke won the prestigious Billy Wallace Best & Fairest Award as the best rugby player for the Wellington club. He became the first winner from the Paremata-Plimmerton club since the award began in 1966. In 2025, he helped the Hammerheads win the National Club Sevens.
His selection for the All Blacks Sevens in December 2025 meant he was the first Chatham Island rugby player to wear an All Blacks jersey since centre-back Robert Mathieson helped the All Blacks win four matches during the 1922 tour of Australia.
“It was really special to represent New Zealand and I’m finally positioning myself as an athlete who can train full-time, really focus on my goals instead of having to juggle work,” says Clarke.
“It’s been a tough season. Fourth in the league is not where we were aiming to finish, but in every tournament now there are no clear favourites. It’s very even. I feel we’re definitely making progress. We were second in the Grand Final series and we’ve just lost to France Broudex.
“It will be interesting to see what new coaches Willie Rickards and Scott Curry bring. Curry has been there and done that, while Willie could tweak a few things.”
With the ex Taranaki coach Neil Barnes (39 wins in 57 games) promoted to the All Blacks, former first-class players Jarrad Hoeata (All Blacks), Heiden Bedwell-Curtis and Michael “Jimmy” Carr took the reins at Taranaki.
It’s been a rough start to the season for the Amber and Blacks, losing three of their first four games, including a 42-0 humbling against Northland.
With their backs against the wall, things clicked in a 40-26 win against Canterbury. Then Auckland was defeated in New Plymouth with a 28-12 win, Taranaki’s 10th win in their last 11 games.
“We lost 12 players for Waikato and Northland’s losses including our captain Kaylum Boshier, All Blacks Josh Jacomb and Bradley Slater, Daniel Rona and Adam Lennox and several others through illness. Hate to use that as an excuse, but that was pretty rough, Clarke said.
“Northland’s loss was so big that we couldn’t dwell on it for long. We knew we were better. It’s no coincidence that Northland is doing so well with its big pack and nine-tenth experience.”
“Against Canterbury we put a lot of focus on winning collisions. It helped that we got Kaylum back. He’s so good at breakdowns. Taranaki rugby is about having a crack and with that fast ball we were able to do that.”
Clarke finished the try the length of the field and scored five conversions.
“It was a great feeling, Meihana Grindlay, Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens, Kini Naholo. We’ve got some lads who can do real damage. They’d be good players of the week too,” Clarke said.
