Tjay Clarke on the rise for Wellington Lions

Tjay Clarke in action for Petone against Ories earlier this season. Photo: Andy McArthur. 

• By Steven White

Is Tjay Clarke currently the biggest over-achiever in the Wellington rugby?

We ask that question in a positive way – the current Lions wing and fullback with the cool head, booming left boot and a steely eye for the tryline has enjoyed a meteoric rise over the past year and a bit.

After his first full season of Premier club rugby in 2023 he made the Wellington Lions for the first time and was playing Ranfurly Shield and NPC rugby. At the start of this year he was handed the captaincy of the famous Petone club in Wellington and his re-selection in the Lions squad was never in doubt.

As we publish this, he has yet to taste defeat in 11 first-class matches for Wellington.

Perhaps it’s his background of growing up in the Chatham Islands and later Perth and Sydney or the influence of his older rugby playing brother by three years, Sam, or of playing around such players as Riley Higgins and Peter Lakai in the St Pat’s Silverstream First XV that makes him the player he has quickly developed into. Probably a bit of all these things.

After leaving school at the end of 2020, he played for the Petone Colts, while also making nine appearances for the Premiers alongside Higgins and Lakai in some of these – all off the bench.

But then came a not insignificant setback. “In 2022 I missed the whole season because of a broken wrist that required a couple of surgeries,” Clarke told Club Rugby this week

He trained hard and came back and made his Petone Premier starting debut at fullback in round one 2023. It was a memorable one too – scoring two tries against Northern United. In fact, he wore the 15 jersey for Petone in every match last year, scoring 160 points.  

Wellington then had two pre-NPC Ranfurly Shield defences in mid-July, against Horowhenua-Kapiti in Levin and South Canterbury at the Hutt Rec. Clarke played in both matches, alongside his brother Sam, and scored tries in each.

The Hardham Cup is not the trophy players want to be playing for on Finals Day. Three days after the South Canterbury defence, Clarke nevertheless made sure that Wellington club rugby’s consolation silverware was heading back to Petone. In a towering display of goal-kicking he kicked six penalties from all angles and distances and a conversion for 20 points in Petone’s 30-13 win over Marist St Pat’s.

A heady 10 days got better for Clarke a few hours later.

“I played in those two Ranfurly Shield games but had no idea I was going to be in the full squad. It was actually that night after the Hardham Cup when they gave me a phone call to say I was in the squad for the NPC.”

The left foot goal-kicking is a valuable asset in any team. But with precision comes practice. “Every opportunity I get I put the ball on the tee to have a kick and practice when I can.”

He played it down when asked, but it’s also understood that he’s pretty handy off the golf tee, so it’s the hand-eye coordination he’s got going on.

Playing for Petone, Clarke knows former Wellington and All Blacks fullback Allan Hewson, another left footed kicker and attacking fullback in the 1970s and 1980s.

Clarke is also distinctive on the field for wearing headgear.

“I used to wear it because my hair was long and to keep it out of my eyes. I took it off and I had a couple of shockers so I put the headgear back on.”

Nothing to do with his childhood nickname ‘bonk’.

“That came about when I was young because I had a tendency for always hitting my head and not looking where I was going.”

The Clarke brothers have a unique background.

Younger brother Tjay was born in Lower Hutt but spent the first eight years of his life growing up in the Chatham Islands, population several hundred, with their father Darcy bein a fisherman.

“I loved it – it’s a place like no other. No wi-fi, no internet, so it was about getting outside and fishing and hunting.”

Then when Tjay was eight and Sam 11, they moved to Perth. From there, the brothers moved over to Sydney for the first three years of Tjay’s secondary school years.

They then moved back to Wellington and to St Pat’s Silverstream for Tjay’s last two years of school in 2019 and 2020.

The brothers also have a strong rugby league background from their time in Australia.

“Growing up as a junior I played a little bit of union but mostly league. I was a halfback/five-eighth, and only came back to union when I came back to Silverstream.”

Tjay started at halfback and then went to first five, and now prefers fullback as his favourite position, but is happy to play anywhere to get on the field.

The Lions have made a lightning start to this year’s NPC, with five straight bonus point wins.

Their latest win against Canterbury was especially emphatic, winning 46-21.

Clarke scored his fourth try in as many games.

“It’s always a tough game against Canterbury down there, and we made history by beating them on their home soil three times in a row in NPC matches.

The Lions’ 46 points in this game is their third highest score in all matches against Canterbury. They won 60-14 at Wellington in 2017 and prior to that match 48-11 at Wellington in 1990 at the old Athletic Park.

There was no slacking off in their mindset when leading 31-0 at halftime.

“We knew we had to keep being clinical and not lay off as Canterbury are a team that can strike from anywhere.

This week is ‘storm week’, starting with Southland at Porirua Park on Saturday, then Otago next Wednesday and then Tasman the following Sunday.

“Southland are unpredictable and have a good kicking game and can strike from anywhere so we just have got to be wary of that and stick to our systems.”

Another Petone player is on Southland’s wing and fits that bill, Villami Fine.

Then there is a possible Ranfurly Shield challenge against Tasman, who are challenging Hawke’s Bay on Saturday night.

“We are going to be backing the boys from across Cook Strait to do a job against Hawke’s Bay!”

Wellington v Southland, 2.05pm Saturday at Porirua Park.