Craig Clarke’s retirement from rugby was confirmed yesterday by Connacht.
The 30-year-old New Zealander was stood down after the Saracens match in January and it was subsequently revealed he had sustained 10 concussions in 22 months.
Neither Connacht coach Pat Lam nor Clarke were available for interview yesterday. This meant no explanation was provided for how a player could sustain so many head traumas in such a short space of time and be allowed to continue playing.
It is also unclear how the problem only became apparent after Clarke signed a three -year deal with the province last year.
A highly respected leader, having captained the Chiefs to back-to-back Super rugby titles, Clarke’s main regret on leaving the game was he never became an All Black.
“While I will always be disappointed not to have worn the black jersey of my country, I will sleep easy knowing that I gave it a real crack, particularly in my last three seasons playing in New Zealand,” said Clarke via a Connacht press release.
My arrival
“Of course I understand that health takes priority over sport every time, but I still can’t escape the disappointment that I couldn’t contribute to Connacht Rugby as I would have liked . . . .”
The Kiwi played only 15 games this season but his leadership skills were quickly identified with Lam promoting him to onfield captain. Clarke has returned home to New Zealand where he has a family farm. He also intends to coach in some capacity.
Connacht will be recruiting another secondrow with Mick Kearney, Aly Muldowney, Michael Swift, Andrew Browne, George Naoupu and Danny Qualter covering the position for the 2014/15 season.
“Craig was obviously one of the biggest signings we’ve ever had at Connacht and it was huge for us to get someone of his experience,” said Lam, also via an email. “But he also had all the qualities of a Connacht team man and we are extremely disappointed for him that his time with the club has been cut short. . . .”
This latest concussion story in rugby follows revelations last week by Shontayne Hape, the former England centre and New Zealand rugby league international, that rugby players are treated like “pieces of meat.”
Hape was forced to retire after sustaining more than 20 head traumas, many of which he hid from coaches at London Irish and Montpelier to ensure he could reach the playing bonuses in his contract.
Current IRB world player of the year, All Black number eight Kieran Read, has been stood down for a second time this year following a third concussion. As a result, Read has been ruled out of Saturday’s Test match against England.
The calf injury Mike McCarthy exacerbated during Saturday's Pro 12 final, has ruled the Leinster lock out of this month's IRB Nations Cup in Bucharest. Munster's Billy Holland replaces McCarthy in Dan McFarland's squad with Dominic Ryan taking over the captaincy. Ryan recently captained Leinster A to British and Irish Cup success.
Ulster's Ricky Lutton and Stuart McCloskey replace Rodney Ah You and Noel Reid, who were promoted to the senior tour of Argentina.
McFarland’s side face Russia on June 13th, Uruguay on June 18th and Romania on June 22nd.
