Caleb Clarke is following in his father's footsteps at the Blues.

The Blues have signed New Zealand under-20 duo Dalton Papalii and Caleb Clarke for the 2018 Super Rugby season.

Loose forward Papalii and wing Clarke, the son of former All Blacks and Blues midfielder Eroni, were both members of the national under-20 side which powered their way to the world title in Georgia in June.

One of the new ITC (Interim Training Contract) recipients this year, Papalii has already forged a close involvement with the Blues.

He was a graduate of the club's under-17 and under-18 programmes before moving on to play for the Blues under-20 and A teams for the last two years, captaining the age-group team both years.

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A former St Kentigern College captain, Papalii led the team to the Auckland 1A Championship in 2015, captained the Auckland under-19 side in 2016 and was part of the New Zealand under-20 side for two years.

Clarke has also come through the Blues development programme and has been part of the franchise's apprenticeship in 2017.

Part of the Mt Albert Grammar national championship winning side from 2016, the big winger was a star performer at the under-20 world championships.

He was part of the Blues under-18 side and the New Zealand secondary schools in 2015 and 2016, the Blues development programmes for under-17, under-18 and was this year in the Blues under-20 and the A teams.

"We continue to work very hard on developing and retaining our best talent, with a focus on young players with the right attitude to become successful professionals who have a passion for the Blues," said Blues high performance manager Tony Hanks.

"Both of these two players not only have proven ability on the field, they are both young men with character and integrity who have also proven to be leaders to this point in their careers.

"The Blues are excited to have both of them on board while we continue to work closely with a number of others looking towards 2018 and beyond."