Hurricanes land new flyhalf

TRANSFER NEWS: Flying high after bringing home the NPC title, Wellington fullback Tjay Clarke has signed with the Hurricanes for 2025.

Born and raised in the Chatham Islands, with a population of some hundreds, Clarke has taken a unique route to earn his inaugural super rugby contract. With no phone service and little connection to the outside world, Clarke spent much of his upbringing outdoors with his fisherman father, Darcy.

“Chatham’s is a place of its own,” remarked Clarke, “I spent the first eight years of my life diving, fishing, hunting, and riding motorbikes around the island.”

There was still time to fit in a bit of rugby, Clarke adds: “Rugby played a big role in my upbringing. There was always a family game with the cousins going on, and we were stalwart followers of the ‘Canes and the Blues.”

This passion for the game followed Clarke and his family to Perth, and then onto Sydney.

“We moved to Sydney when I was around twelve, and my brother Sam and I were selected to play rugby league at Endeavour Sports High School. I didn’t actually get back into rugby union until I moved back home and started playing for St Pat’s Silverstream.”

It was there that Clarke met fellow Hurricanes’ Riley Higgins and Peter Lakai. The three have shared quite a journey together, winning the College 1st XV final at St Pat’s Silverstream, then moving together to play club rugby for Petone. Most recently, the three were all integral members of the Wellington Lions’ title winning 2024 NPC campaign.

“That’s the thing about rugby,” Clarke mused, “it’s all about the relationships you make. To be able to play with Riley and Peter across all these different grades is really special, especially with them being the quality players that they are.”

Hurricanes Head Coach Clark Laidlaw said he was thrilled to add Clarke to the mix.

“We’ve watched Tjay play really well in the NPC over the last couple of years, with a stellar performance for Wellington this year. He feels like a really good addition, he’s young, hungry and keen to get stuck in.”

When asked what he’ll bring to the team dynamic, Laidlaw remarked: “He fits the model and style that we want to play from the back either at fullback or on the wing. Tjay’s got a good left boot on him and he’s exciting on attack.”