Capped eight times by Ireland, Clarke was a key player in Ulster’s 1999 Heineken Cup run, including the 21-6 win over Colomiers at Lansdowne Road in the final, the province’s only European title.
In 2004, he was appointed as Assistant Coach to Mark McCall, helping the province to a first ever Celtic League title, secured at the Liberty Stadium on the final day of the 05/06 season.
The following season he left Ulster to take up a position as High Performance Manager with the IRFU, overseeing the national age-grade and development programme.
He returned to his home province in 2012, and was confirmed in his current role as Forwards Coach at Kingspan Stadium ahead of the 2014/15 season.
Clarke also has experience of coaching on the international scene, coaching Ireland ‘A’ for a number of years and, more recently, Emerging Ireland to success in the 2015 Tbilisi Cup ahead of Georgia, Italy A and Uruguay.
In March 2017, he was confirmed as Ospreys' new Forwards Coach, replacing Chris Gibbes in the role.
In January 2018, he was confirmed as interim head coach of Ospreys following Steve Tandy departure.
Career
 |
Seattle Seawolves Head Coach |
2023 - present |
 |
Ospreys Head Coach |
2017 - 2019 |
