Jon Clarke (born 4 April 1979) is an English former professional rugby league player who played as a hooker. He is currently a strength & conditioning coach for the England and British & Irish Lions rugby union teams. He played for the Wigan Warriors, London Broncos, Warrington Wolves and Widnes Vikings.[2][3]
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| Full name | Jonathan Clarke | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 4 April 1979 Lowton, near Leigh, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 15 st 6 lb (98 kg)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Hooker | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Playing career
editHe represented Great Britain Academy as captain whilst coming through the junior ranks at Wigan Warriors, he played in their 1997 Premiership Final winning side against St. Helens. He followed his Wigan Warriors coach John Monie to the London Broncos in 2000, but returned north in 2001 when the Warrington Wolves were forced to sign a hooker on loan to solve an injury crisis.[citation needed]
Generally used as Warrington Wolves' starting hooker, he was Super League's most effective tackler in 2004 with a 99% success rate, and was fourth-highest tackler in the competition in 2005.
In June 2007, Clarke was called up to the Great Britain squad for the Test match against France.[4]
The Warrington Wolves fans voted him 'Greatest Hooker' in the club's history, beating John Thursfield and Mark Roskell into 2nd and 3rd place.[citation needed]
He was forced to rule himself out contention for the England training squad for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup through injury.[5]
Clarke played in the 2010 Challenge Cup Final victory over the Leeds Rhinos at Wembley Stadium.[6][7]
It was announced on 6 September 2011 that Clarke would be joining Widnes Vikings in their forthcoming return to Super League.
Coaching career
editClarke retired at the end of the 2014 season, and joined the coaching staff at Widnes.[8]
Clarke was on the coaching staff of England RU at the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan. He was a strength and conditioning coach on the 2021 British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa.
On 28 Nov 2023 it was reported that he had taken up a role as head of performance at the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles[9]
References
edit- ^ "The official Engage Super League web site". web page. Super League. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
- ^ a b "Profile at loverugbyleague.com". loverugbyleague.com. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
- ^ a b "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
- ^ "Eight new faces in Lions squad". BBC. 12 June 2007. Retrieved 12 June 2007.
- ^ "Deacon pulls out of England squad". BBC. 16 September 2008. Retrieved 3 October 2008.
- ^ Scott, Ged (28 August 2010). "Leeds 6–30 Warrington". BBC. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
- ^ Wilson, Andy (28 August 2010). "Chris Hicks hat-trick leads Warrington to Challenge Cup triumph over Leeds". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 31 August 2010. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
- ^ "Jon Clarke added to Widnes Vikings coaching staff". BBC Sport. 28 August 2014. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
- ^ "Jon Clarke returns to rugby league in role with NRL club Manly Sea Eagles: 'An unbelievable opportunity'". Love Rugby League. 28 November 2023.