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'The gangs and the prison really interests me... because of my history and experiences of mistakes and doing things wrong'
Calum Clark isn’t someone you’d imagine enthusiastically heading out into the world and spreading the message that rugby’s values of respect, discipline, teamwork, sportsmanship and humility are keys to become a success in life.
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The former Northampton back row comes with his demons. He has a reputation for being a somewhat unsavoury character on the field, someone who has too often found himself appearing in front of disciplinary hearing panels and being forced to account for his behaviour. But the past few years at Saracens have had an effect on the 29-year-old.
His choice of holiday destination last summer is evidence of how he is trying to become a reformed character. He could have easily pitched up in Vegas, Ibiza or multiple other party spots and let the hair down after Saracens had won the 2018 Gallagher Premiership title they are now seeking to successfully defend this Saturday at Twickenham.
Instead, he trekked to Venezuela for a week to see for himself the rehabilitation work carried out by Project Alcatraz, a programme run by the rum-making Santa Teresa company that aims to tackle gang crime and transform the lives of violent youth offenders.
On the go since 2003, the project uses education, training and rugby as learning tools in the hope that the criminals can eventually be safely reinserted back into society.
"The prisoners are desperate, but rugby gives them hope"
This summer @Saracens back-row Calum Clark spent a week in Venezuela experiencing @SantaTeresaRum's highly successful community initiative – 'Project Alcatraz'.
Read more here 👉 https://t.co/PjZX0cQYAZ#ForThePlayers pic.twitter.com/x4w1Bc9jFT
— The RPA (@theRPA) November 2, 2018
A 2015 BBC article first piqued the interest of Clark, who felt empathy with the message of learning from your mistakes to become a better person. When he later twigged that Alberto Vollmer’s family-owned company is a member of the Rugby Players’ Association business club in England, he knew he had to make the trip to Caracas to experience the project for himself.
“I read about it a while back and I love to travel,” said Clark to RugbyPass on a break from Saracens training ahead of the Premiership decider against Exeter.
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“I guess, I’d like to think I’m quite socially conscious. The gangs and the prison, the work they do to rehabilitate people is something that really interests me, partly because of my own history and my own experiences of mistakes and doing things wrong.
Calum Clark hearing starting about now. How long do you think he'll be banned for? Here it is again if you missed it http://t.co/6Kj6GNZd
— RugbyDump (@Rugbydump) March 29, 2012
“I maybe have a natural affinity and empathy for young people who make mistakes, I guess. That was why the project resonated with me and it was really special experience. One of the best things I have ever done.
“The project has been around for a long time and has made huge progress in improvements to lives and the environment in the area that these people are living and operating in. I went out to take as much of it in as I could, visit the prison, meet some of the people who have been involved.
“I went to the young offenders because Saracens do a Get Onside programme, which is kind of like assimilating rugby education into young lads who have made mistakes and they come from all sorts of backgrounds.
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“Sport is so powerful. Such a powerful and useful tool, a mechanism for young people to learn things about life. It just interests me, excites me. It’s something that I have an interest in and it has a lot of legs in it, a lot of potential.
“I have travelled quite a bit and been in countries other people might not necessarily feel comfortable in. Human beings aren’t the scariest people. It’s humans going through very human problems and it’s difficult in their country at the moment. There is lots going on, lots of challenges to face.
“But if you look at them and treat them as humans, it’s funny what can happen. It’s kind of refreshing this human element of it all and that is why I like it, I guess.
“The one thing that was so powerful about the project was that these young men I was speaking to in prison, the people who ran the project were the first people in positions of authority that ever treated them with any sort of respect or decency in their lives.
“All the way from the situation they were born in to their immediate surroundings to the police, the people in society just treated them to nothing but disdain. The power of this project actually comes from treating them like human beings, treating them as people who have make a mistake.
“It’s less about what you can teach them, it’s more what that project can teach everyone else that for the first time in their lives in prison they are getting treated like people and respected despite their flaws. That is what is so powerful about it and that is something I try and think about, try and use in my life as well is to try and approach people with that sort of mindset.”
Making the shortlist for Community Player of the Season, @Saracens' Calum Clark worked on Project Alcatraz in Venezuela which provides ex-offenders & gang members the opportunity to undertake community service, civil values training, psychological support & rugby #GallagherPrem🏉 pic.twitter.com/vCydG9Oepd
— Gallagher UK (@GallagherUK) May 9, 2019
Clark’s curiosity in reaching out to people less well off resulted in him featuring on the six-strong shortlist for the Gallagher Community Player of the Season Award that was last week given to Bristol’s Nick Fenton-Wells.
He’ll talk at length about Project Alcatraz. The more people who hear about it the better, he figures. However, when it comes to taking about his own rugby in a season where he has made 14 Premiership appearances and another three in a European Cup that was won by Saracens, he is far less forthcoming.
“I don’t really want to talk about myself, if that’s alright, my own situation. I’ll talk about the team,” he said, a point he soon reiterated a second time when asked if he knew what he letting himself in for when he decided to trade Franklin’s Gardens for Allianz Park in 2017.
“It’s a challenging environment. I don’t want to talk about myself, I’ll just talk about the team. You know you’re coming to a club that is going to be challenging and it has been.”
While reticent to talk about himself, the insight he offers about Saracens helps shed light on why they are a beacon of consistency. “You could see from the outside (while at Northampton) that they were doing lots of things right and coming into the environment, that was sort of confirmed that there were lots of things they were doing right.
“But I guess the most exciting thing to reiterate is there is lots of things we can do better as well. That is what is the biggest difference. There is no feeling within the group that this is complete and that this is done.
“We are constantly trying to push this idea that there is something more we can do, go and take this somewhere that is not yet explored. That is what sort of really exciting,” continued the forward whose existing deal has another year to run with the double-chasing Londoners.
“The overall feeling is we try not to judge ourselves on trophies. I know that is a bit of a cliche, but what we are trying to live and breathe is pushing this on to try and take the performance, the rugby and how we play the game to a place we have not done before.
“That is the overlying philosophy of what we’re trying to do. We obviously don’t always get it right, we don’t always get it perfect and that is part of the process, but I think generally we try and look beyond the external stuff and where we have this focus is pushing ourselves on to where we feel (we can go). That is quite an exciting place to be operating in and inhabiting.”
A view from Wolfpack Lager's Chris Wyles on the Saracens v Leinster Champions rugby final in Newcastle https://t.co/5yC1oYRiMe
— liam heagney (@heagneyl) May 11, 2019
This type of internal focus is the reason why the general air of dislike that exists for Saracens among their rivals isn’t something they are really bothered by. “The external credit isn’t important to us,” shrugged Clark, who admittedly considers Saturday’s rivals Exeter “the most consistent team in the league” in this year’s regular season.
“We’re driven by something else, I’d like to think. If people are going to pick holes in it, people are going to pick holes, not agree with certain things or whatever. But for us we’re not looking for credit from other places. We’re looking for credit from within and from each other – and that is what is important.”
WATCH: Episode four of Don’t Mess With Jim, the weekly RugbyPass show fronted by former Saracens lock Jim Hamilton
Comments on RugbyPass
I like this, but ultimately rugby already has enough trophies. Trying to make more games “consequential" might prove to be a fools errand, although this is a less bad idea than some others. Minor quibble with the title of the article; it isn’t very meaningful to say the boks are the unofficial world champions when it would be functionally impossible for the Raeburn trophy not to be held by the world champions. There’s a period of a few months every 4 years when there is no “unofficial” world champion, and the Raeburn trophy is held by the actual world champions.
8 Go to commentsIts a great idea but one that I dont think will have a lot of traction. It will depend on the prestige that they each hold but if you can do that it would be great. When Japan beat the Boks (my team) I was absolutely devestated but I wont deny the great game they played that day. We were outclassed and it was one of the best games of rugby I have seen. Using an idea like this you might just give the the underdog teams more of an opportunity to beat the big teams and I can absolutely see it being a brilliant display of rugby. They beat us because they planned for that game. It was a great moment for Japan. This way we can remove the 4 year wait and give teams something to aim for outside of World Cup years.
8 Go to commentsHi, Dave here. Happy to answer questions 🥰
8 Go to commentsDon’t think that headline is accurate. It’s great to see Aus doing better but I’m not sure they’ve shown much threat to the top of the table. They shouldn’t be inflating wins against the lousy Highlanders and Crusaders either.
3 Go to commentsSuch a shame Roigard and Aumua picked up long term injuries, probably the two form players in the comp. Also, pretty sure Clarke Dermody isn’t their coach. Got it half right though.
3 Go to commentsOh the Aussie media, they never learn. At least Andrew Kellaway is like “Woah, yeah it’s great, but settle down there guys” having endured years of the Aussie media, fans, and often their players getting ahead of themselves only to fall flat on their faces. Have the “We'll win the Bledisloe for sure this year!” headlines started yet? It’s simple to see what’s going on. The Aussie teams are settled, they didn't lose any of their major players overseas. The Crusaders and Chiefs lost key experienced All Blacks, and Razor in the Crusaders case, and clearly neither are anywhere near as strong as last year (The Canes and Blues would probably be 3rd & 4th if they were). The Highlanders are annually average, even more so post-Aaron Smith and a big squad clean out. The two teams at the top? The two nz sides with largely the same settled roster as last year, except Ardie Savea for the Canes. They’ve both got far better coaches now too. If the Aussies are going to win the title, this is the year the kiwi sides will be weakest, so they better take their chance.
3 Go to commentsThe World Cup has to be the gold standard, line in the sand. 113 teams compete for what is the opportunity to make the pool stages, and then the knockout games for the trophy. The concept is sound. This must have been the rationale when the World Cup was created, surely? But I’m all for Looking forward and finding new ways for the SH to dominate the NH into the future. The autumn series needs a change up. Let’s start by having the NH teams come south every odd year for the Autumn/Spring series games?
8 Go to commentsWhat’ll happen when the AI models of the future go back in time and try to destroy the AI models of the past standing in their way of certain victory?
41 Go to commentsThanks, Nick. We (Seanny Maloney, Brett and I) just discussed Charlie as a potential Wallaby No 8, and wondered if he has truly realised how big he is in contact (and whether he can add 5 kg w/o slowing down). Your scouting report confirms our suspicions he has the materiel. No one knows if he has the mentality (as Johann van Graan said this week about CJ, Duane and Alfie B) to carry 10-15 times a game.
57 Go to commentsHe would be a great player for the Stormers, Dobbo should approach the guy.
3 Go to commentsGood article. A few years back when he was playing for the Cheetahs, he was a quiet standout for exactly the seasons stated here. I occasionally get to see his games in the UK, and he has become a more complete player and in many ways like an Irish player. His work ethic is so suitable to the Leinster game. I wonder if Rassie would have him listed somewhere.
3 Go to commentsResults probably skewed by the fact that a few clubs have foreign fly halves in their 30s, but most teams have young English scrum halves. Results also likely to be skewed by the fact that many teams rely on centres and fullbacks to provide depth at 10, whereas they will need to stock a large number of specialist backup 9s.
1 Go to commentsI really get the sense that when all is said and done, the path of least resistance will end up being a merger of Wasps & Worcester that essentially kills the Worcester Warriors brand and sees Wasps permanently playing at Sixways. I’m not saying that’s what should happen or what I want to happen. I just think it’s the easiest rout to take and therefore, will be what happens. Wasps will definitely return to play first, and I suppose it all depends on if they can find support at Sixways. If people turn up and support Wasps in that community, at that ground, I bet they drop the Sevenoaks plan and just remain at Sixways. Under the radar but not totally unrelated, it looks as though London Irish are going to be brought back from the dead by a German consortium and look set to return, likely to the remade Championship. It’s set to have 12 clubs next season with 14 in 2025/26, what do you want to bet those extra 2 are Wasps and London Irish?
3 Go to commentsThe shoulder is a “joint” with multiple bones. You don’t “fracture” a shoulder, you fracture any one or more of the bones that make up a shoulder.
2 Go to commentsOh dear, bones too suspect to continue?
2 Go to commentsBold headline considering the Canes and Blues are 1 and 2 and the Brumbies were soundly beaten by the Chiefs and Blues. Biggest surprise is Rebels 4 Crusaders 12 - no one saw that coming. If Aus are improving that’s great 👍
3 Go to commentsAnna, You are right, we need to have patience whilst the others catch up to England and France. Also it is the PWR that has been the game changer for England. the RFU put money into that initially at the expense of the Red Roses. I was sceptical at first but it has paid off in spades.
1 Go to commentsI think Matt Proctor became a 1 test AB in the same fixture. Cameron is quality and has been great this season, can’t believe’s he only 27. Realistically how would he not be selected for ABs squad this year. Only Dmac is ahead of him as a specialist 10. With Jordan out, it will come down to where and when Beauden Barrett slots back in, and where they want to play Ruben Love. Cameron seems an absolute lock in for the wider squad though. Added benefit of TJ-Cameron-Jordie combination at 9, 10, 11 too.
1 Go to commentsFarcical, to what end would someone want to pay to keep this thing going.
1 Go to commentsHavili, our best 12 by a mile, will be in the squad, if he stays fit. JB is the most overrated AB in the last 50 years.
61 Go to comments