Chris Clarkson
Christopher Clarkson is an English professional rugby league footballer who last played in the forward for the York Knights in the Championship. He is an England Knights international.
He has previously played for Hull Kingston Rovers and the Leeds Rhinos in the Super League, spending a season on loan from Leeds at the Widnes Vikings in 2015.
Early life
Clarkson was born in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Before joining Leeds, Clarkson was a pupil at Temple Moor High School. He played for his local amateur side East Leeds. Clarkson was a new recruit for the Leeds Rhinos Academy in 2006. One year later he became a regular in the Academy side and he helped the Junior Academy side clinch the Championship. For that game he was named in the starting line-up for the victory over St. Helens in the Grand Final. He earned his place in the side after he had registered an impressive nine tries in 21 appearances over the season.Club career
Leeds Rhinos
Clarkson made his Super League début for Leeds club on 19 March 2010 in a 10-17 defeat by Hull Kingston Rovers, deputising for Ryan Hall. He showed his versatility by playing on the, before following this up at in the following game against Wigan.He played in the 2010 Challenge Cup Final defeat against Warrington at Wembley Stadium.
Clarkson played from the interchange bench for Leeds in the 2011 Challenge Cup Final defeat against Wigan at Wembley Stadium. He played in the 2011 Super League Grand Final victory over St. Helens at Old Trafford.
Clarkson was part of the successful Leeds team that won the 2012 Super League Grand Final. Clarkson also played a winning role in Leeds 2014 Challenge Cup Final triumph over the Castleford Tigers. Throughout his time with the club, Clarkson made 118 appearances for the Leeds club and registering 11 tries in total.
Widnes Vikings (loan)
In 2015, Clarkson was sent out on loan to Widnes, where he played 25 games and scored four tries in their Super League and Qualifiers campaign.Hull Kingston Rovers
On 2 October 2015, Clarkson signed a three-year deal to play for Hull Kingston Rovers starting in the 2016 season. Clarkson suffered relegation from the Super League with Hull Kingston Rovers in the 2016 season, due to losing the Million Pound Game by Salford. 12-months later however, Clarkson was part of the Hull Kingston Rovers side that won promotion back to the Super League at the first time of asking following relegation the season prior.It was revealed on 10 October 2018 that Clarkson would be departing Hull Kingston Rovers following a restructure of the club's on-field personnel.