Clarke, the son of fellow All Black Eroni who played in the 1990s, can draw his family line back to immigrants who left the north of Ireland in either the 1920s or 1940s to farm potatoes in Samoa.
“It’s quite exciting. I was speaking to my family before we left for the northern tour and my dad and my grandad reminded me that I’ve Irish roots in me and that’s where the Clarkes came from before coming to Samoa,” he said.
“It’s my first time here in Ireland as well.
“Northern Ireland is what I heard. Up north. Before they came to Samoa as potato farmers, that’s about all I’ve got so far.
“It’s probably why I like Guinness! I’m not a drinker, but when I tried it I was like, ‘Wow, that was so nice’.
“That’s all I’ve heard, they came in the early ’20s or the ’40s to Samoa and started potato farming and from there the Clarkes sort of grew.”
An all-action winger who finds himself in competition with some of the best players in the world, Clarke has hit a rich vein of form under Scott Robertson.
He didn’t get much of a look-in at last year’s World Cup, so he went and spent part of pre-season with rugby league club South Sydney Rabbitohs and has come back a better player.
Unlike a clutch of his team-mates, he doesn’t have the baggage from Ireland’s series win in New Zealand or last year’s World Cup quarter-final.
Still, he is expecting a fierce reception at the Aviva Stadium on Friday.
“It’s not too relevant to be fair,” he said of the World Cup game. “We sort of parked that to the side and moving forward we know how dangerous Ireland are as a team and what they bring. Playing here in Ireland is going to be a big task ahead.
“So, for us I think the quarter-final from last year has been pushed aside and we’re really focusing on what’s going to come – and that’s a strong Irish team with strong Irish supporters, and we’ll be ready.
Clarke insists the Irish series success on New Zealand soil in 2022 holds little relevance this week either.
“I didn’t play in that series to be fair,” he said. “It would be on the boys’ mind but I think the most important thing is what’s coming ahead and the big challenge that it’s going to be because we know there’s going to be a lot of fireworks out there whether that’s on the field or off the field, and we’ve just got to be prepared for all of that.”
