Educated at Bishop's Stortford College,[2] Clarke played for Bath Rugby from 1992 to 1996, before joining Richmond F.C. as the first £1-million player.[3] He returned to Bath in 2000 for a second spell as captain,[4] before knee injuries reduced his appearances and he left the club for a second time, joining Worcester Warriors as player/coach in 2001.[5]
Clarke first played for England in November 1992 v South Africa.
In 1995 Clarke received the first yellow card in the sport, for stamping on the Irish player Simon Geoghegan, however, at the time the card was only shown as a warning and was not used to send players off. [6]