Justin Marshall boldly ranks All Blacks star as ‘one of the best in the world’ having ‘come a mile’ during Scott Robertson’s reign
All Blacks wing Caleb Clarke celebrates try against the Wallabies, and former scrum-half Justin Marshall.
Former All Blacks scrum-half Justin Marshall has been hugely impressed by the development of Caleb Clarke after the wing’s Rugby Championship performances.
The flyer has long been regarded as a big talent after bursting onto the scene as an 18-year-old with some stunning displays in New Zealand’s World Rugby U20 Championship triumph in 2017.
Clarke then showed his ability in Super Rugby, eventually earning a call-up to the All Blacks squad in 2020 and starting four times in the Covid-affected Tri Nations.
Injury hampered him in 2021 before he played a full part in 2022, but there were obvious weaknesses in his game that were beginning to be exposed.
Falling out of favour
As a result, the 25-year-old was a peripheral figure in the Rugby World Cup year as New Zealand reached the final in 2023.
The speedster then flirted with a cross-code switch having long been an admirer of rugby league, but that now appears to be put on the back-burner after a superb 2024 so far.
Clarke has scored seven tries for New Zealand this year, with six of those coming in four Rugby Championship matches.
It is not just his finishing ability that has stood out, however, with the Blues star developing other areas of his game, including the aerial work, which Marshall boldly rates as among the best in the world.
“We always knew that he was an awesome athlete: fast, powerful and able to beat defenders, and when he gets some momentum up, he’s really hard to stop,” Marshall told The Platform.
“Obviously, the blitz defence was causing him issues so he had to make sure that he evolved his game in terms of attack.
“Sometimes if you want to beat the blitz defence you’ve got to have the ability to cross-kick and what you then need is your wingers is be very good aerially, and be able to dominate that space.
“He’s come a hell of a long way. He’s arguably the best wing in the world – if not, the top three – at taking the ball in the air.”
Defensive improvement
Clarke also had issues in defence, but Marshall believes that the wing has done a lot to rectify those problems, which has enabled him to improve as a player.
“We all know his attacking prowess but the one thing that worried me with Caleb a lot when I first saw him and then went through those form fluctuations was his defence,” the ex-All Black added.
“He had a tendency to gravitate in, be hooked in and made poor decisions, but he has come a mile in that regard.
“Watch the first 20 minutes of the Test last weekend [against the Wallabies] and the two try-saving tackles he made. They tried to get outside him and both times he went in at the hips and put them on the ground.
“That’s where he has got to. He’s an all-round balanced winger and good on him, he deserves the accolade he’s getting because he’s worked hard.”
