Clark 'more hungry' after England camp call-up
It was late one evening at the end of January when Gloucester lock Arthur Clark's phone rang out of the blue with a call-up to the England pre-Six Nations training camp. Just over 12 hours later, the uncapped Clark was on a plane to the England base in Girona, Spain, where he spent almost two weeks with the squad before the first Test against Ireland.But on the final day in a training session Clark, felt his foot go under a ruck and a scan later revealed he had fractured a bone, ruling him out of any potential game time during the tournament. Despite the disappointment, the experience has left the 23-year-old "more hungry" than ever."I think I was always pushing and trying to train hard and do the best I could, and was just happy to see what happened," Clark told BBC Radio Gloucestershire. "Even to be part of the team was amazing and it was totally unexpected for me, especially when I got the call, but I was definitely ready to ramp up and push in to try and get into the 23. But things didn't go that way."
After almost four months on the sidelines, Clark is back in Gloucester's squad for the Premiership run-in. Clark has come through Gloucester's ranks since the juniors and also represented England A last November in their win against Australia A.As well as finishing the season strongly with his club and poterntially confirming that top-four spot, Clark has his sights firmly set on England's tour to Argentina in the summer."[It was a] real mix of emotions. I was a bit of a misery when I got back but we got bigger and stronger, so we're ready to get out there," Clark said."There's been little touches of base [with England] but nothing too substantial. They just touched base to make sure my rehab was going well and making sure I was getting back on track."Then a little message: 'When you're back, show what you're about and get yourself on the plane'."
Gloucester are away at Saracens on Saturday in what is set to be a key fixture in the race for the top four, with Sarries two points behind fourth-placed Gloucester.The Cherry and Whites are aiming to finish in the top four for the first time since 2019. "It's a big whirlwind from where we started the season and where we're trying to finish it," Clark said."We made a massive emphasis off the back of last year of coming in and changing the mind frame and actually going week-to-week and taking every week in our stride and seeing where it got us. That has evidently worked."
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