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Six Nations 2026 Awards - and our Team of the Tournament
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Watch: All Blacks winger scores in NPC return ahead of Springboks Test
By Henry Lee
It hasn’t been the best year of his rugby career, but Blues and All Blacks winger Caleb Clarke made a strong return for a struggling Auckland Bunnings NPC side, impressing in their 37-17 loss to Wellington.
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Porirua Park played host to a number of All Blacks turning out for their respective provinces, after New Zealand Rugby announced during the week that sixteen players would be released to play this weekend in the NPC.
That list included Clarke, with the 26-year-old winger joining the 0-4 Auckland side for their trip to Wellington, who also had a number of All Blacks back in action.
It didn’t take long for the All Blacks to show their class, with Peter Lakai, Ruben Love and Clarke all showcasing what they have to offer in the opening 20 minutes.
Clarke managed to hold a Wellington player up after a kickoff, winning the ball back for his side, while Lakai was sharp over the ball in a ruck on the Wellington side of halfway.
Wellington managed to open the scoring through Love, who was on the end of a nice backline move from Wellington which saw Julian Savea wind back the clock.
Savea used his pace and strength to break through the line, before firing a pass to his left where Love was following the play.
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Despite the conditions making it tough to play free flowing rugby, Auckland managed to score a try down the left wing in the second half, after young first-five Rico Simpson decided to take a tap and go close to the line.
Simpson fired a wide pass to his left, before Sam Hainsworth-Fa’aofo shifted it one more to Clarke to score his first try in the Bunnings NPC competition in 2025.
With the All Blacks’ aerial struggles in recent times, Clarke could be part of the solution going forward for head coach Scott Robertson, especially now that he has proved fit and raring to go.
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Clarke surprisingly didn’t score a single try in Super Rugby Pacific 2025, but before the France series, Robertson explained that he wasn’t concerned with the 29-Test winger’s form.
“Yeah, look, right now his aerial game is still very good,” Robertson said about Clarke.
“He’s a big power athlete. Every time he has been our team he has performed, so we look forward to getting him back to his best.”
