Caleb Daniel Clarke (born 29 March 1999) is a New Zealand

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

player who plays as a

Wing A wing is a type of fin that produces both Lift (force), lift and drag while moving through air. Wings are defined by two shape characteristics, an airfoil section and a planform (aeronautics), planform. Wing efficiency is expressed as lift-to-d ...

for the

Blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

in Super Rugby and

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

in the Bunnings NPC.

Early life

Clarke is a Fijian/Samoan New Zealander. His grandfather, Iafeta Clarke, was a member of the

Samoa national rugby union team The Samoa national rugby union team represents Samoa in men's international rugby union competitions. They are governed by Samoa Rugby Union and also known as "Manu Samoa", which is thought to derive from the name of a Samoan warrior. They perf ...

that won the gold medal at the

1963 South Pacific Games The 1st South Pacific Games (), also known as Suva 1963, held from 29 August to 9 September 1963 in Suva, Fiji, was the first edition of the South Pacific Games. The multisport games were established to engender bonds of friendship amongst peopl ...

. He also played club rugby for Suburbs and was a member of their first

Gallaher Shield The Gallaher Shield is awarded to the winner of the Auckland Rugby Union senior premier competition, and was first awarded in 1922. The shield is named in honour of Dave Gallaher, an early stalwart of Ponsonby, Auckland and New Zealand ...

winning team. His father,

Eroni Clarke Eroni Clarke (born 31 March 1969) is a New Zealand rugby union international who played for Auckland, the Blues and the Highlanders. Clarke made 155 appearances for Auckland, making him the fifth (equal with Sean Fitzpatrick) most capped play ...

is a former New Zealand rugby union international. His aunt, Sheryl Clarke, is a former New Zealand netball international. Clarke attended

Mount Albert Grammar School Mount Albert Grammar School, commonly known as MAGS, is a co-educational state secondary school in Mount Albert in Auckland, New Zealand. It teaches students in year levels 9 to 13. , Mount Albert Grammar School is the second largest school in N ...

and was first selected for the school's First XV aged 14, where he played until 2016.

International career

Clarke was selected for the All Blacks Sevens in 2018, following his first season for

in the

Mitre 10 Cup The mitre (Commonwealth English) or miter (American English; see spelling differences; both pronounced ; ) is a type of headgear now known as the traditional, ceremonial headdress of bishops and certain abbots in traditional Christianity. Mi ...

. Good performances for Auckland also led to Clarke's selection for the New Zealand U20's, for 2017 and 2018. In 2019, his second season of Super Rugby, Clarke also became a regular starter for the

, under new Head Coach,

Leon MacDonald Leon Raymond MacDonald (born 21 December 1977) is a retired New Zealand rugby union footballer, and former head coach for the Auckland Blues rugby team, who played 56 tests for the national team, the All Blacks. He played as a first five-eighth ...

. Due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, Clarke, as well as his teammates from the

New Zealand national rugby sevens team The New Zealand national rugby sevens team competes in the World Rugby Sevens Series, Rugby World Cup Sevens, Summer Olympic Games and the Commonwealth Games. They have won a record 14 World Rugby Sevens Series titles. The team played for ...

, were released to play for their provinces and Super Rugby clubs. Clarke was in career-best form following New Zealand's national lockdown, leading to his selection for the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks, is the representative men's national team in the sport of rugby union for the nation of New Zealand, which is considered the country's national sport. Famed for th ...

squad for the 2020 Bledisloe Cup and

2020 Tri Nations Series The 2020 Tri Nations Series was the seventeenth edition of the annual southern hemisphere competition, involving Argentina, Australia and New Zealand. On 16 October 2020, 2019 Rugby Championship winners and 2019 Rugby World Cup champions South Af ...

. He made his debut for New Zealand in their 16–16 draw with the

Wallabies A wallaby () is a small or middle-sized macropod native to Australia and New Guinea, with introduced populations in New Zealand, Hawaii, the United Kingdom and other countries. They belong to the same taxonomic family as kangaroos and som ...

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

Sky Stadium Wellington Regional Stadium (commercially known as Sky Stadium through naming rights) is a major sporting venue in Wellington, New Zealand. The stadium's bowl site size is . The stadium was built in 1999 by Fletcher Construction and is situa ...

. After a season-ending injury to

George Bridge George Crispin Bridge (born 1 April 1995) is a New Zealand people, New Zealand Rugby Union, rugby union player who currently plays as an Wing (rugby union), outside back for Montpellier Hérault Rugby, Montpellier in France's domestic Top 14. ...

, Clarke started in four tests that year, on the left wing. Clarke scored his first try for the All Blacks on 14 November, in a historic first-ever loss to Argentina.

Legal issues

In February 2025 Clarke admitted charges of driving dangerously and failing to stop for police. He had been driving a motorcycle in Auckland in December 2024. His lawyer indicated that he would seek a discharge without conviction, with sentencing scheduled for June.

Career statistics

List of international tries

, - , style="text-align:center;", 1 , 14 November 2020 ,

Bankwest Stadium Western Sydney Stadium, currently known as CommBank Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium in the suburb of Parramatta, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It replaced the demolished Parramatta Stadium (1986) which in turn ...

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, Australia , , style="text-align:center;", 15–25 , ,

, - , style="text-align:center;", 2 , 27 August 2022 ,

Rugby League Park Rugby League Park is a sports stadium in Christchurch, New Zealand. It is currently known for sponsorship reasons as Apollo Projects Stadium, and non-commercially as Christchurch Stadium. The stadium was originally known as the Addington Sho ...

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

, New Zealand , , style="text-align:center;", 13–6 , ,

2022 Rugby Championship The 2022 Rugby Championship was the tenth edition of the annual southern hemisphere The Rugby Championship, competition, involving Argentina national rugby union team, Argentina, Australia national rugby union team, Australia, New Zealand nationa ...

, - , style="text-align:center;", 3 , 3 September 2022 ,

Waikato Stadium FMG Stadium Waikato is a major sporting and cultural events venue in Hamilton, New Zealand, with a total capacity of 25,800. Four areas contribute to this capacity: The Brian Perry Stand holding 12,000, the WEL Networks Stand holding 8,000, th ...

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

, New Zealand , , style="text-align:center;", 15–0 , ,

, - , style="text-align:center;", 4 , 29 October 2022 ,

Japan National Stadium The Japan National Stadium, officially the , alternatively , and a.k.a. formerly is a multi-purpose stadium used mostly for association football in Kasumigaokamachi, Kasumigaoka, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan. The facility served as the main stadi ...

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, Japan , , style="text-align:center;", 26–17 , ,

2022 end-of-year rugby union internationals The 2022 end of year rugby union tests, also known as the 2022 Autumn internationals, were a number of rugby union test matches played during the months of October and November. Some of the games were known as the Autumn Nations Series for marketin ...

, - , style="text-align:center;", 5 , 29 July 2023 ,

Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as the 'G, is a sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadium in the Southern Hemisphere, the Lis ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, Australia , , style="text-align:center;", 24–7 , , 2023 Rugby Championship , - , style="text-align:center;", 6 , 5 October 2023 ,

Stadium de Toulouse Stadium de Toulouse, previously named Stadium Municipal, is the largest multi-purpose stadium in Toulouse, France. It is currently used mostly for football matches, mainly those of the Toulouse Football Club, as well as rugby matches for Stade ...

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

, France , , style="text-align:center;", 62–3 , ,

2023 Rugby World Cup The 2023 Rugby World Cup () was the tenth men's Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national rugby union teams. It took place in France from 8 September to 28 October 2023 in nine venues across the country. The opening game ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Clarke, Caleb 1999 births New Zealand rugby union players New Zealand sportspeople of Samoan descent Blues (Super Rugby) players Auckland rugby union players Rugby union players from Auckland New Zealand international rugby sevens players Rugby union wings Living people New Zealand international rugby union players 2023 Rugby World Cup players People educated at Mount Albert Grammar School 21st-century New Zealand sportsmen