York extend contract of experienced forward

York have announced that experienced forward Chris Clarkson has become the first player to extend his contract with the club for next season.

The 30-year-old was one of several eye-catching signings made by the club ahead of 2020 and scored one try in six appearances before the season was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Before joining the Knights, Clarkson had several fruitful years in Super League, winning two league titles, a Challenge Cup and a World Club Challenge with Leeds before also having spells with Widnes, Hull KR and Castleford.

“I’ve never had this amount of time away from rugby since I was a young lad,” he said. “So I’m very happy to know I’ll be playing again next year for York and very excited to get going again when the time comes.

“I think taking a step back and getting our bodies and minds refreshed will do a lot of the lads good and we’ll see the benefit of that in 2021.”

Knights head coach James Ford added: “I’m delighted that Chris wanted to extend his deal with us and I’m excited as to what we can continue building. Chris is an outstanding professional who’s standards have a positive impact on everyone around him.

“He had some strong games in a side that didn’t quite find the fluency we were striving towards and I feel Chris set some standards for other players to aim at with regards to his unselfish efforts; getting behind the ball early, being ready to play on every play, kick chase and high quality defensive repeat efforts.

“I’m confident Chris will be a key player in our squad and central to our development.”