Roger Clarke is a

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 ...

administrator from

Royal Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells (formerly, until 1909, and still commonly 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 Weald, High Weald, whose sand ...

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

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 Latin school, school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented Se ...

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 (English school), academy status for boys located in the town of Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent ...

where he also played rugby union for the school. Clarke then went on the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

, 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 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 ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was foun ...

'', 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 to become the chairman of "Area 3" (encompassing the counties of Kent,

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

and

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

) 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 IRB 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 ...

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 the Rugby Football Union (RFU) in international rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France national rugby union team, France, Ireland national rugby union team, ...

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 national rugby union team, England, Ireland national rugby union team, Ireland, Scotland national rugby union team, Scotland, and ...

, Fran Cotton 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 executives 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