ROBBIE CLARKE - THE BREAKTHROUGH!!

Killester Website: Robbie Robbie Robbie...This should be interesting! Usually this is where I thank people for taking time out of their lives for doing this... in your case....
Robbie Clarke: Hey easy there. I have a hectic life at the moment. I just got a job and with all my coaching…. I never knew it could be so tiring!

KW: Haha okay Rob, I am sorry! Okay now, lets get down to it.... Give the people what they want, an insight into the mind of R.C! Question Time!!!

KW: Just to get the juices flowing here Rob, we will do a quick fire round.... just answer the first thing that pop's into your head. Crazy idea I know!!

Number? 69
Hated Team? Tolka
Best Game? U17 game against Vincent’s when I was 15 and had 24 points!
Girlfriend? Elaine awwww!!
Fav Player? Jonny Grennell/Steve Nash
Fav Coach? Mark Grennell
Practice? No thanks!
Superleague? The Beachcomber...Champs!

KW: Ok thanks rob we will revisit some of those answers to get more
detail from you later on...

KW: So now you are finished your underage career, what differences have you noticed? Do you miss it?
R.C: The main difference is I can’t shoot the ball every time I touch it. I get into trouble when I do..especially when I pull up just inside my own half. The lads don’t know that’s my range!! Other then that is the dedication of the lads. They give up every second weekend whereas in underage giving up a Friday night to go to the park or barcode is a big ask of some! Superleague is way more professional also and the other part of the question. I would do anything to have an underage career again. I really miss it.

KW: Any regrets from underage?
R.C: Not winning the National Cup in my U19 year and then U20 for not taking it serious. We trained like twice then lost out to Demon's by 1 point in the first round and they end up walking the competition. That
haunted me for a while!

KW: You finished your underage career with the highest honor possible, the U20 Irish team, how was that experience? What is the best thing to come out of that?
R.C: Yeah that was a good way of going out but I definitely would of preferred a National Cup in my Under 19 year. I didn’t really mind as much with the U20's as it was a watered down competition. The Irish team was a good experience. I didn’t really play that much so that kind of sucked. Hmmm best thing to come out of it. That’s a tough one because we had a lot of funny things happen along the way. Holland was good for obvious reasons. Poland was a load of fun! The Belgium game was a great moment for me over there. I only got into the game at the end of the 3rd and had 11 points in 13mins when we came from behind to win it.the emotions everyone was feeling after the game was incredible! So after we went out to celebrate! and that we did! It was messy i'm not going to lie! Our day basically went like this: get up early, get breakfast, go to training, come back, play the Wii for hours, get lunch, play the Wii, Go play our match, come home and shower, go get McDonald's or Pizza Hut, play the Wii, Go to bed! It was a great routine!!
The best thing to come out of the Irish team, hmm that’s a toughy. There were a few, like learning that the guys I've played against and hated for years weren't actually muppetts. I'm best mates with them all now. Like for instance Scott and I, It was a known thing that we didn’t get along, but now Arnie junior and me are great mates. we were kind of an item until he went away to the states. That guy broke my heart! I mailed him the other day and he's getting along great! He's in Patterson Prep and only last week his team beat Oak Hill by 25! I want to take this chance to wish Scott the best of luck over there!! Anyways moving along so I don’t cry. I think the best thing to come out of my travels with the Irish team was definitely rooming with Neil Baynes. The guy is an all round LEGEND. It was constant fun being around him. The guy was awful at the Wii but still persisted with talking smack to me every chance he got! It was hilarious but to be fair in the end he got pretty good at it! We were bad news around each other! I think Holland proved that when we nearly got kicked out of our hotel! It was hilarious! I got my body signed by a homeless guy whose name was Giuseppe Rossi and I went to show the doorman in the hotel but Baynes got their before me…lets just say the doorman didn’t see the funny side and freaked out!! You can find this guy Baynes stumbling around Dublin's city centre at 4 o clock in the morning, any night. His favorite spots are McDonalds and Burger King shouting, "Where's my burger? I ordered it about ten minutes ago! Ya bitch!" You should go meet the guy.

KW: Mark Keenan and John Behan coached you, in his interview John gave us his side of things, now from a players perspective, how did you find it?
R.C: Eh it was weird to tell you the truth! Like I've grown up playing on a few of the same teams as John so it was a weird adjustment to make. Also I'd travel to training with John so that was also strange because I couldn't talk to him about the team or tell him about the session I was planning that night because I'd have training the next morning!! Yeah Mark was the Head Coach and as ya know he was my coach with Killester too so wherever I went there he was, I couldn't get away from the guy!! Haha. Ah but he was cool. The Irish team helped me for this season. Like last summer I didn’t do any fitness and came back to pre-season in bits! Two runs and I was on the floor! But this pre-season I found that my fitness was higher so that was good!

KW: Ok thanks rob, its all-good stuff so far. So on to Superleague... Not many people probably realize this but this is actually your fourth year playing on the Superleague team, true?
R.C: Yeah you could say that. Last year has been my only full season really. The year that Mike Martin, Colin Tabb and D-Mo were here I played the second half of the season, then Sasa came and I just concentrated on my U19 team but before the U19 Cup I wanted to get extra training so I asked him could I train with them. So I end up playing with them after Christmas and I got a few minutes in some games which was sound! Then last year I played for the whole season but didn't get a look in which was fair enough as we had two of the best guards in the country in Jonny and Isaac. It was cool though cos, Didn’t I get a Championship watch!

KW: As you have said, your favourite player "Big Cuz" Jonny Grennell is the starting point guard on the team, how is it playing with him? both being point guards, is their rivalry there at all or does he help you out, push you to be better?
R.C: No no... There's never going to be any rivalry between Jonny and I. Nana would kill us! Although there has been once or twice when he's hit me in the games in training but we joke about it after, but I warn him and tell him "If you ever try any of that mean stuff again I will tell Nana", so he apologizes! Seriously though Jonny is great. He's a great Captain and a great cousin. He's always pushing me in training but helping me at the same time then after he tells me what I did right and wrong and what I need to work on. Then sometimes after training we stay around and work on other things in my game so I owe him a lot!!

KW: So far, you have done really well this year by all reports... are you enjoying your bigger part in the team so far? and who if anyone else would you attribute your success to?
R.C: Ah you don't know how good it is to finally be playing consistent minutes. Its great, it really is! I’m really enjoying it. There's a great buzz around the team. It helps when everyone gets along great and there's no ego's. We had a tough loss away to Star. Our offense just wasn't there but it was a good sign that we kept them to 77 points in their home gym. We had a meeting in training on Monday to correct what went wrong so people are feeling good now. Ye well I owe all the coach's who have had a tough time in trying to coach me, I'm sure that was tough but one coach I owe a lot to is Mark Grennell. He's coached me since I was 14 and helped me immensely! He does so much hard work for the club, whether he be coaching any of his three teams or doing behind the scene's work. Just want to take this time to thank him for all his hard work that is never appreciated! Keep it up Sparky!

KW: I know this one might be a difficult question, I will give it to you in two parts. First, what is your favourite team to have played on? and second.... what is the best team you have played on?
R.C: My favourite team has to be my U19 team when I was Captain. Played with all my best friends. We just came up short in the Final, which was the worst feeling EVER. And the best team I have played for was last years Superleague team. Any team with Damien Sealy coming off the bench has to be!

KW: Okay Robbie, now you are known around the dressing room for your pink shirts and white crocodile shoes, what comes over you when you dress? Who inspires you?
R.C: Haha! I think people are just jealous! Pink shirts and white shoes are slick! Well to tell you the truth I never even wore jeans until I start going out with Elaine. So I would blame it on her as she was my stylist! I remember I wore my white shoes after a game when we were going into town last season and the lad’s start calling me John Travolta!! Even Mark Keenan had a go at me!

K.W: OK OK Rob after all your begging we will do the "teammates"
Section?

K.W: Best Trainer?
R.C: It’s a toss up between Tommy and Jonny…When Mark Keenan joins in he wins it hands down!!

K.W: Worst Trainer?
R.C: Ah now come on… Are you trying to get me in trouble???

K.W: Best Sense of Style?
R.C: Jonny Grennell..We were in Limerick for the Final's last season and the chap was strolling around our room in a robe calling himself "Charles Wellington" and waffling on about a pipe that blows bubbles!!

K.W: Worst Sense of Style?
R.C: John Lambert. A few weeks ago he wore the biggest wifey ever! the yoke was hanging off him!!

K.W: Hard Man on the team?
R.C: I’m going to say Ed because of those bow's!!

K.W: Biggest Joker?
R.C: Michael Bonaparte! The guy is hilarious! The snake!!

K.W: Best taste in Music?
R.C: I’m going to say Arnaud.he has a few good songs on his ipod!

K.W: Worst taste in Music?
R.C: Jonny Grennell! Snow patrol and those kind of slit your wrists bands!!

KW: Smartest guy in the changing room?
R.C: Jonny

K.W: Thickest guy in the changing room?
K.W: By thickest...what do you mean?

and................

K.W: Longest in the shower?
R.C: Jonny. We room together on the road so nobody else gets to see the real Jonny! As stated above he strolls around the place calling himself "Charles Wellington" and the likes but when he's in the shower he's a nightmare!! Singing Frank Sinatra at the top of his voice and all! And he tells me when he gets out about his shampoo Mohawk he made in the shower!


Thanks Robbie... you have been an editors dream!