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'Like a cross between his old man and Ma'a Nonu' - Blues winger Caleb Clarke's performance has Twitter in a frenzy
The Blues surge through the opening rounds of Super Rugby Aotearoa has put many of their young stars in the spotlight, and last night against the Highlanders it was Caleb Clarke stealing the show.
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The emotional Clarke, mourning the loss of his grandfather, put in a storming first half performance that had the Blues mounting a 22-10 halftime lead.
Clarke powered over through multiple defenders to score one himself before breaking away downfield on a kick return to setup Rieko Ioane for a long range try that set Eden Park into party-mode.
Caleb Clarke, like Hoskins Sotutu, is another second generation Blues’ player that has come alight this season. Caleb’s father Eroni was a mainstay of the Blues midfield in the 90s, playing 48 times for the club and over 150 times for Auckland at provincial level.
Clarke’s performance had many assured that the former New Zealand under-20 star would don the black jersey at some point in the near future and ‘decimate international defences’.
Wow. Caleb Clarke, 21 years old. Lost his grandfather hours before the game today then gets MVP/Man of the Match. That took some guts. He's looking like a fantastic player in the making and has the character to go with it. Amazing.#BLUvHIG #SuperRugbyAotearoa
— Gregg ??????? (@GreggC_CC) June 27, 2020
If you didn’t love Caleb Clarke already then you should now. #BLUvHIG
— Mark Sadler (@markasadler) June 27, 2020
Caleb Clarke's first half stats:
7 carries
82 metres
4 defenders beaten
2 clean breaks
2 passes
1 try
1 try assistFuture All Black.#BLUvHIG
— Dylan Jack (@dylmjack) June 27, 2020
Caleb Clarke. He’s pretty good isn’t he. #BLUvHIG
— Scott & Bailey (@ScottBaileys) June 27, 2020
Caleb Clarke doing things #SuperRugbyAotearoa #BLUvHIG
— PAQUETA ?? (@kimalawari) June 27, 2020
Caleb Clarke is great. Like a cross between his old man and Ma’a Nonu. #superrugbyaotearoa #BLUvHIG
— Nicholas Cocks (@NickoCocks) June 27, 2020
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Caleb Clarke is also an absolute superstar. Unreal. #BLUvHIG
— Rogan (@rmtempler) June 27, 2020
Might as well give out the man of the match trophy at half-time. Caleb Clarke has been phenomenal. #SuperRugbyAotearoa #aotearoa #BLUvHIG
— Matt Gretton (@mattgretton1) June 27, 2020
Caleb Clarke has bossed this half. #BLUvHIG
— Moses Rudende (BEWILDERED HERD MEMBER #0069) (@rudende) June 27, 2020
Caleb Clarke has been incredible. He is going to decimate internationals defences whenever they get to happen again. #BLUvHIG
— Ruck ’n’ Roll (@RnRRugby) June 27, 2020
https://twitter.com/EdAnsell1/status/1276780444319535105
The Blues have found the right balance within the team that has allowed the outside backs to flourish with the arrival of fullback Beauden Barrett.
Right wing Mark Telea has also been a revelation this season, and the move of Rieko Ioane to outside centre is paying off.
With midfielders Ma’a Nonu, Sonny Bill Williams, and TJ Faiane on the books last season, competition was tough for playing time.
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Caleb Clarke earned a player rating of 8.5/10 from RugbyPass writer Mike Rehu for last night’s performance, the highest of any Blues player on the field, continuing his excellent form after an 8.5 against the Hurricanes.
Comments on RugbyPass
The value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
3 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
10 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
37 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
10 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to commentsTo me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
37 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
3 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
37 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
49 Go to commentsNot too bad. Questions at 6, lock and HB for me. The ABs will be a lot stronger once Jordan and Roigard return. Also, work needs to be made to secure Frizzell back for next season and maybe also Mo’unga; they’re just wasting time playing in japan
37 Go to commentsOn the title, i wonder for many of those people it is a case something like a belief in working smarter, not harder?
1 Go to commentsForget Sotutu. One of those whose top level is Super Rugby. Id take a punt on Wallace Sititi Finau ahead of Glass body Blackadder.
37 Go to commentsI’m a pensioner so I've been around a bit. My opinion of SBW is he is an elite athlete and a great New Zealander and roll model. He has been to the top and knows what he's talking about. To all the negative comments regarding SBW the typical New Zealand way, cut that tall poppy down.
17 Go to commentsI'm not listening to a guy moralise over others when this is the guy who walked out mid season on Canterbury RLFC when he had a contract with them, what a hypocrite. All the Kiwis sticking up for this unprincipled individual because they can't accept justified criticism, he has zero credibility or integrity. Those praising him are a joke.
17 Go to commentsI’d put Finau at 6 instead of Blackadder but that’s the only change I’d make. Can’t wait to see who Razor picks.
37 Go to commentsTamati Williams, Codie Taylor, and Same Cane? Not sure about Hoskins Sotutu at test level. Wasn’t that impressive last season. Need a balance between experience and talent/youth.
37 Go to commentsInteresting insight. Fantastic athlete, and a genuine human being.
17 Go to commentsThey played at night in Suva last weekend and it’s an afternoon game forecast for 19 degrees in Canberra this weekend. Heat change is a non issue.
2 Go to commentsWishing Rosie a speedy recovery
1 Go to comments