Leeds Rhinos Netball veteran Jade Clarke relishing Manchester homecoming

For the England Roses veteran and Commonwealth Games gold medallist leads her Leeds Rhinos team out into one of the biggest arenas the sport is played in to face the unbeaten Vitality Superleague leaders and her hometown team, Manchester Thunder this afternoon.

It is a homecoming of sorts for 38-year-old Clarke, who grew up in the area, played for the team and made her England debut there 19 years ago.

“The AO Arena is really special to me,” says Clarke, who has added nearly 200 England caps since.

“I just remember it so vividly running on to that court and how amazing that crowd was so to be back there nearly 20 years later and playing in this game is pretty awesome.

“It does lift everyone’s game.”

Coming on the back of playing in front of more than 3,000 people at first direct Arena in Leeds on Sunday, the fixtures show the growing appeal of women’s premier netball competition.

“I know people say that a netball court is a netball court wherever it is but really you want to play in the big arenas,” adds Clarke.

“You realise how special it is and the effort to get an area like that and knowing that all the fans are really looking forward to being there and being part of such a big crowd, that does really lift your game as well. That’s kind of why you play.

“You want everyone watching and you want to play in those special matches in special venues with everyone watching. It does make it extra special.”

Rhinos will be given a stern test of their credentials against the Thunder.

Leeds may have won two in a row, thrillingly against Wasps at first direct Arena last Sunday, and again at Severn Stars in Worcester last night – 53-49 – but unbeaten Manchester will pose different questions in what is a mouth-watering cross-Pennines 
tussle.

“I think it’s the classic derby game,” says Clarke. “That rivalry has always been there between the two biggest teams in the north, going back to before Leeds Rhinos, when it was Yorkshire Jets.

“It’s because we’re so close in area and both being up north. Teams from the north pride ourselves on playing tough, fast netball and really taking it to the other team, so you’ve got two teams that are really fiery and love a close game and just really want to beat each other even though they have a lot of respect for each other.

“So it’s always a really fun fixture and a game that both sides talk about and really look forward to and afterwards we’re all mates again and talk about how good the game was.”

And in the week of International Women’s Day, the constant promotion of netball is something to behold from one of the English game’s most prominent ambassadors.

“On International Women’s Day we talked about breaking the bias and these are the ways we can do that,” she says, “by having netball really being taken seriously and people really taking notice of us playing a big event at a big arena and thinking ‘I’m going to go and watch that’.

“You’ve got your loyal fans but you’ve also got people who’ve never watched netball before going for the first time. That’s definitely a great way of pushing the sport forward.”