Pioneers of Rugby in Wellington 084: Bill Clark

The Seagull, specialist openside flanker Bill Clark was involved in all four of University’s Jubilee Cup title wins in the 1950s.

He was in the team that won a three-peat between 1952-54 and when he retired due to recurring injuries at the end of the 1958 season, he was one of only two players along with Peter Osborne to have played in that famous 1952 team.

As well as for university, Clark distinguished himself for New Zealand Universities, Wellington, North Island and All Blacks teams over several seasons.

On the 1953/54 tour of Britain and France, Clark was one of four University All Black tourists, the others being Ron Jarden, Jim Fitzgerald and Brian Fitzpatrick.

Reflecting on his career when he hung up his boots the Rugby Weekly published this about Clark:

“A superb middle-of-the-field flanker, he had an uncanny instinct also for teaming up with the game’s greatest scoring wing three-quarter, R.A. Jarden.

“He was an expert with the cross-kick to Jarden’s wing as was Jarden with a centre kick, and each found the other almost invariably with unerring accuracy.

“Then there was his amazing capacity for charging down kicks by defenders and turning this attribute into tries.

“He revelled in his rugby, physically he looked wrongly built to become a great forward. But he played with a genius which took him into All Black teams. There was those who saw in much of his play a similar approach and uncanny instinct that marked the play of another of New Zealand’s ‘greats’ of rugby – Cliff Porter.”

In his book, Bob Stuart’s All Blacks, Terry McLean wrote:

“William Clark became the outstanding loose forward of the team by virtue of his exceptional pace, a singularly alert mind and an extraordinary gift for being in the right place and the tight time.”

Clark was born and raised in Motueka, his father having captained Golden Bay-Motueka and represented the South Island in 1926 and his brother Tony was a midfielder who represented, the University club alongside him, NZ Universities and Wellington before retiring prematurely with a broken leg.

Clark was in the Nelson College First XV in 1947 and 1948.

He moved to Wellington and came into Senior rugby in 1950. University was at a low ebb, but he caught the attention of the selectors and by the end of the season he had made representative debut for Wellington against Canterbury in Christchurch.

In 1951, University was still not up to much, but they had Clark and Jarden. Together they became regulars in the Wellington team and Clark was selected to play for the NZ Universities team to Australia.

In 1952, University came right. They tipped over defending champions Poneke 37-0 in the opening round and went all the way to win the Jubilee Cup. They played positive, attacking rugby, which suited Clark’s style of play, and he stood out as the marauding, fast flanker in white headgear with a dynamic relationship with other leading players notably Jarden and centre Jim Fitzgerald.

This style of play rubbed off on the Wellington representative team and in 1953 they won the Ranfurly Shield off Waikato and returned home to defend it five times in four weeks before losing it to Canterbury.

Nevertheless, Clark’s red-hot form was too good to ignore, and he was selected for the All Blacks for the first time on their 1953/54 tour. He played in four of the five tests. He would later play in all three tests against the 1955 Wallabies and then against the Springboks in 1956, playing in three of the four tests in the series win, and for Wellington in a 6-8 loss to them and for NZU in a 221-5 win over them.

That was the conclusion of his international career, ending with a record of 24 matches, including nine tests.

That same year, 1956, Clark was in the Wellington team that regained the Ranfurly Shield off Canterbury by winning 8-0. Returning home, Clark made a break and set up Jarden for the winning try in the 9-6 defence against Auckland.

Injury cut short Clark’s 1957 season, but he helped Wellington defend the shield against Bush, Poverty Bay and Whanganui – scoring two tries against Whanganui. He was also in the side that lost it to Otago, 11-19.

Clark returned in 1958, helping University to win the Jubilee Cup again. Injuries were troubling him and he made just one appearance for Wellington that season before being forced to retire.

He briefly stayed in the game by refereeing for a season in 1959, and then briefly coaching the University Senior team in 1960. He later managed the Waiwhetu service station in Lower Hutt and had a family of five children, including four boys.

He retuned to rugby via administration and was President of University from 1977-79 and elected a Life Member in 1979.

Clark’s first-class career saw him play 132 matches and he scored 33 tries.

Clark passed away in Mapua, Nelson, on 3 June 2010, aged 80.

References:

• Akers, Clive. New Zealand Rugby Register 1870-2015. New Zealand Rugby Museum, 2016.
• Anderson, John. Victoria University of Wellington Rugby Football Club. The story of the Green and Golds 1902-1987. Tolan Printing Company, Wellington, 1988.
• Bob. New Zealand Rugby Greats, Volume 1. Moa Publications, Auckland, 1975.
• The Rugby Weekly, 30 July 1958 “Bill Clark’s Rugby Career Ended.”
• McLean, Terry. Bob Stuart’s All Blacks. H. & A.W. Reed, Wellington, 1954.
• Wellington’s Rugby History 1951-79. By Bob Fox, with assistance by Paul Elenio and Joseph Romanos (Evening Post) and Alex Veysey and Ian Gault (Dominion), with statistics compiled by Gordon Jackson (1951-68) and Alby Butterworth (1969-78). Tolan Printing Company, Wellington, 1979.
• Photos credit from the National Library:

William Clark, member of 1953-1954 All Black touring team. Crown Studios Ltd :Negatives and prints. Ref: 1/2-207187-F. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. /records/22315477

Rugby All Black Bill Clark pumping petrol at his service station. Evening post (Newspaper. 1865-2002) :Photographic negatives and prints of the Evening Post newspaper. Ref: EP/1957/0953-F. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. /records/22803287