James Arthue Clare was an English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

-born international rugby union

Rugby union

Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...

 three-quarter who played club rugby for Cardiff Rugby Football Club

Cardiff RFC

Cardiff Rugby Football Club is a rugby union football club based in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. The club was founded in 1876 and played their first few matches at Sophia Gardens, but soon relocated to Cardiff Arms Park where they have been based ever since...

 and international rugby for Wales

Wales national rugby union team

The Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union tournaments. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy and Scotland. Wales have won the Six Nations and its predecessors 24 times outright, second only to England with...

. He achieved just a single cap, in the second international encounter between Wales and his birth country England.

Rugby career

Clare was born in London in 1857 but moved to Penarth

Penarth

Penarth is a town and seaside resort in the Vale of Glamorgan , Wales, 5.2 miles south west from the city centre of the Welsh capital city of Cardiff and lying on the north shore of the Severn Estuary at the southern end of Cardiff Bay...

 in Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

, where he became a pilot

Maritime pilot

A pilot is a mariner who guides ships through dangerous or congested waters, such as harbours or river mouths. With the exception of the Panama Canal, the pilot is only an advisor, as the captain remains in legal, overriding command of the vessel....

 in the Cardiff Docks

Cardiff Docks

Cardiff Docks is a port in south Cardiff, Wales. At its peak, the port was one of the largest dock systems in the world with a total quayage of almost...

, guiding ships through the harbour. While working in the Cardiff area he began playing rugby for Cardiff Rugby Club. In 1883 Clare was selected to represent his adopted country when he played for Wales in the opening game of the 1883 Home Nations Championship

1883 Home Nations Championship

The 1883 Home Nations Championship was the inaugural series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Five matches were played between 16 December 1882 and 3 March 1883...

 against England. This was only the third international game Wales had played and was the first ever game of the inaugural Six Nations Championship

Six Nations Championship

The Six Nations Championship is an annual international rugby union competition involving six European sides: England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales....

. Under the captaincy of Charles Lewis

Charles Lewis (rugby player)

Charles Prytherch Lewis was a Welsh international rugby union player, who won five caps between 1882 and 1884.-Life:...

, Clare played three-quarters along with David Gwynn

David Gwynn

David 'Dai' Gwynn was a Welsh international rugby union wing who played club rugby for Swansea and county rugby for Lancashire...

 and Cardiff team-mate William Norton

William Norton (rugby player)

William Barron Norton was a Welsh international rugby union three-quarter who played club rugby for Cardiff Rugby Football Club and international rugby for Wales. He was awarded six caps for Wales.- Rugby career :...

. Wales lost the game by two goals and four tries to nil, and Clare was not reselected to represent Wales again.