James Clare (rugby league)

James Clare (born 13 April 1991) is an English professional rugby league footballer who plays as a winger or fullback for the Castleford Tigers in the Betfred Super League.

James "Sticks"[1] Clare
Personal information
Full nameJames Clare
Born (1991-04-13) 13 April 1991
Castleford, West Yorkshire, England
Height6 ft 2 in (1.87 m)
Weight14 st 2 lb (90 kg)
Playing information
PositionWing, Fullback
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2012–15 Castleford Tigers 38 24 0 0 96
2013(loan) → Doncaster 4 1 0 0 4
2015(DR) → York City Knights 7 9 0 0 36
2015–16 Bradford Bulls 30 21 0 0 84
2017 Leigh Centurions 5 6 0 0 24
2018– Castleford Tigers 60 29 0 0 116
2018(DR) → Halifax 3 0 0 0 0
Total 147 90 0 0 360
As of 26 December 2020
Source: [2][3]

He has played for the Castleford Tigers (two spells) and the Leigh Centurions in the Super League, Doncaster (loan), the Bradford Bulls, and Halifax (dual registration) in the Championship, and the York City Knights (dual registration) in League 1.

Background

Clare was born in Castleford, West Yorkshire, England.

Career

Castleford Tigers

Having come through the Tigers' academy system, Clare earned his first full-time contract prior to the 2012 season.[4] Clare made his first team début for the Castleford Tigers on 16 March 2012 away to the Huddersfield Giants.[5] He made 2 further appearances that season, and scored his first try on 8 July 2012 at home to the Huddersfield Giants.[6]

In June 2013, Clare signed a two-year contract extension with the Tigers.[7] On 8 September 2013, Clare scored 4 tries in Castleford's visit to local rivals Wakefield Trinity Wildcats on the final day of the season.[8] In 2013, he made 9 appearances and scored 8 tries.

Clare was allocated squad number 24 prior to the 2014 season.[9] He made 17 appearances and scored 11 tries for Castleford as the team finished 4th in Super League and reached the Challenge Cup Final.

Clare was given squad number 2 for 2015, following the retirement of Kirk Dixon, after his impressive performances in 2014 established him in the first team.[10] Despite this, Clare said, "The hard work starts now in my eyes. The number will mean nothing if you don't train as hard as you can or perform on the day".[10] He made 9 appearances and scored 4 tries for the Tigers, as well as playing for the York City Knights on dual registration, before his move to the Bradford Bulls was announced on 22 July.[1]

Doncaster (loan)

Clare joined newly-promoted Championship side Doncaster for the 2013 season.[11] He was to be on a 24 hour call back for parent club Castleford after 28 days. Clare made 4 appearances and scored 1 try for the club across February and March before returning to the Tigers.[12]

York City Knights (dual registration)

In 2015, Clare played for the York City Knights in League 1 through their dual registration arrangement with Castleford. The Tigers' head coach Daryl Powell said he was "looking for him to build some confidence" through spending time at York.[13] Clare made 7 appearances and scored 9 tries for the Knights.[12]

Bradford Bulls

Clare signed for Championship side the Bradford Bulls in July, towards the end of the 2015 season.[14] He signed a deal until the end of the 2016 season.

In the 2015 Season, Clare featured in Round 23 (Halifax). Clare played in Qualifier 1 (Sheffield Eagles) to Qualifier 4 (Widnes Vikings) then in Qualifier 6 (Leigh Centurions) to Qualifier 7 (Halifax). He scored against the Sheffield Eagles (1 try), the Wakefield Trinity Wildcats (1 try) and Salford Red Devils (1 try).

In the 2016 Season, Clare featured in the pre-season friendlies against the Leeds Rhinos and the Castleford Tigers. He scored against Castleford Tigers (1 try). He featured in Round 1 (Featherstone Rovers) to Round 22 (Oldham). Clare played in the Challenge Cup in the 4th Round (Dewsbury Rams). He scored against Whitehaven (2 tries), the Swinton Lions (3 tries), the Leigh Centurions (3 tries), the London Broncos (1 try), Halifax (1 try), the Sheffield Eagles (1 try), the Dewsbury Rams (1 try), Workington Town (2 tries), Oldham (2 tries) and the Batley Bulldogs (2 tries). In June, midway through the season, Clare signed a contract extension keeping him at Bradford until 2018.[15]

Clare later recalled that, after Bradford were placed in administration in November 2016, he "seriously considered quitting the game for good", saying, "The amount of emotional stress you go through takes its toll on you physically in the end."[16] In January 2017, following the Bradford Bulls' liquidation, Clare became a free agent.[17]

Leigh Centurions

On 5 January 2017 it was announced that Clare had signed a 2-year deal with the newly-promoted Leigh Centurions.[18] Leigh head coach Neil Jukes said: "James is someone we've admired and monitored for some while now, especially after his performance in our epic draw at Bradford last year."[19] He was allocated shirt number 28, due to arriving after the squad numbers were revealed.

Unfortunately, Clare suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury in Leigh's pre-season win over the Dewsbury Rams on 29 January 2017.[20] This ruled him out for most of the upcoming season. He made his first appearance for the Centurions on 3 September against the Widnes Vikings in the fourth round of the Qualifiers, scoring a try.[21] He played the remainder of the season, making 5 appearances and scoring 6 tries.[12] Leigh were defeated by the Catalans Dragons in the 2017 Million Pound Game, resulting in their relegation to the Championship and meaning all contracts became null and void, leaving other clubs free to approach Clare.[22]

Castleford Tigers

In December 2017, Clare rejoined his hometown club Castleford Tigers on a one-year deal for the 2018 season, with an option to extend the deal by a further year.[23] He said, "Cas are the club that I’ve supported for my entire life so to be back here and to have another chance to pull on this famous shirt is great," and added, "I pushed for the move as much as I could because I knew I always wanted to come back here."[23]

In his first season back at Castleford, Clare wore the number 26.[24] After beginning the season at Halifax on dual registration, he played his first game since returning against the Salford Red Devils on 11 March, scoring a try.[25] He was kept out for a number of months mid-season due to a tibial plateau fracture.[26] In July, he extended his contract until the end of the 2020 season.[27] Despite his injury - and the fierce competition for places on Castleford's wings from Greg Eden, Greg Minikin and Jy Hitchcox - he made 18 appearances and scored 8 tries.[12]

The 2019 campaign proved to be Clare's most prolific season yet in the Super League. He regained squad number 2, claiming the right-wing berth as his own following Greg Minikin's move to centre.[28] He made 30 appearances, playing in all but 2 of Castleford's matches, and scored 15 tries, topping the club's try-scoring charts.[29] This included his second hat-trick for the Tigers on 12 July - this was his first Castleford treble since 2013 and it occurred, again, in a visit to local rivals Wakefield.[30] Clare also finished the season as the runner up for the club's Players' Player of the Year award.[31]

Following the arrival of Sosaia Feki and Derrell Olpherts at Castleford for 2020, Clare was given squad number 21.[32] He made a strong start to the campaign and had made 5 appearances and scored 4 tries when the season was suspended in March.

Halifax (dual registration)

In February 2018, Clare played for Championship side Halifax through their dual registration agreement with Castleford.[33] He made 3 appearances.[12]

Statistics
Season Team App T G FG Pts
2012 Castleford Tigers 3 1 0 0 4
2013 Doncaster 4 1 0 0 4
2013 Castleford Tigers 9 8 0 0 32
2014 Castleford Tigers 17 11 0 0 44
2015 Castleford Tigers 9 4 0 0 16
2015 York City Knights 7 9 0 0 36
2015 Bradford Bulls 7 3 0 0 12
2016 Bradford Bulls 23 18 0 0 72
2017 Leigh Centurions 5 6 0 0 24
2018 Halifax 3 0 0 0 0
2018 Castleford Tigers 18 8 0 0 32
2019 Castleford Tigers 30 15 0 0 60
2020* Castleford Tigers 5 4 0 0 16
Totals 140 88 0 0 352

(* denotes season still competing)

References
  1. "Clare ups 'Sticks'". Castleford Tigers. 22 July 2015. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  2. loverugbyleague
  3. RLP
  4. "Tigers academy trio earn full time contracts". Superleaguefans.com. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  5. "Huddersfield 42-4 Castleford". BBC Sport. 16 March 2012. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  6. "Castleford Tigers 52-6 Huddersfield Giants". BBC Sport. 7 July 2012. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  7. "James Clare re-signs with Castleford". Love Rugby League. 28 June 2013. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  8. "Wakefield 36-32 Castleford". BBC Sport. 8 September 2013. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  9. "Castleford Tigers 2014 squad numbers". Love Rugby League. 19 December 2013. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  10. "Clare's ready to face the Wildcats". Castleford Tigers. 3 February 2015. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  11. "Tigers Duo Out on Loan". Castleford Tigers. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  12. "James Clare Player Stats". Love Rugby League. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  13. "Castleford winger James Clare off to League One York". Sky Sports. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  14. "Bradford sign James Clare and Matt Ryan". Love Rugby League. 23 July 2015. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  15. Bower, Aaron (6 June 2016). "Bradford duo James Clare and Omari Caro sign new deals". Total Rugby League. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  16. Heppenstall, Ross (29 March 2018). "EXCLUSIVE: Castleford winger James Clare reveals all on his tumultuous journey". The Daily Express. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  17. "Bradford Bulls: Former Super League champions liquidated". BBC Sport. 3 January 2017. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  18. "Centurions Confirm James Clare Signing". Leigh Centurions. 5 January 2017. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  19. "James Clare joins Leigh Centurions from Bradford Bulls". Sky Sports. 6 January 2017. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  20. "Long-term injury blow rules out former Castleford Tigers star James Clare". www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk. 8 February 2017. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  21. "Qualifiers: Leigh Centurions 8-24 Widnes Vikings". BBC Sport. 3 September 2017. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  22. "Million Pound Game: Leigh Centurions 10-26 Catalans Dragons". BBC Sport. 30 September 2017. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  23. "Clare returns to Cas". Castleford Tigers. 5 December 2017. Retrieved 8 December 2017.
  24. "2018 Squad Numbers". Castleford Tigers. 23 January 2018. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  25. "Super League: Castleford Tigers 22-8 Salford Red Devils". BBC Sport. 11 March 2018. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  26. "Injury update". Castleford Tigers. 3 May 2018. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  27. "James Clare: Castleford Tigers winger signs contract extension". BBC Sport. 10 July 2018. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  28. "2019 squad numbers confirmed". Castleford Tigers. 4 January 2019. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  29. "James Clare - Career Stats & Summary - Rugby League Project". www.rugbyleagueproject.org. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  30. "Super League: Castleford beat Wakefield 36-16 in derby thanks to James Clare hat-trick". BBC Sport. 12 July 2019. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  31. "Boxing Day talking points". Castleford Tigers. 20 December 2019. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  32. "2020 Squad Numbers Revealed". Castleford Tigers. 17 January 2020. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  33. "Castleford keeping tabs on progress of loan men". Pontefract and Castleford Express. 18 March 2018. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
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