James William Rangi Wilson (born 7 July 1983) is a retired professional

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

player from

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. In 2003

Southland Southland may refer to: Places Canada * Dunbar–Southlands, Vancouver, British Columbia New Zealand * Southland Region, a region of New Zealand * Southland County, a former New Zealand county * Southland District, part of the wider Southland Reg ...

introduced Wilson to the NPC when he played against

Marlborough Marlborough may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Marlborough, Wiltshire, England ** Marlborough College, public school * Marlborough School, Woodstock in Oxfordshire, England * The Marlborough Science Academy in Hertfordshire, England Austral ...

. Having played for

for eight seasons he has been able to score over 200 points for his union, 82 of those in Ranfurly Shield challenges making him leader of the all-time shield points scorer for Southland. He left Southland for France at the end of the 2011 season playing 65 matches in total. After a great

Air New Zealand Cup The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...

season in 2006 in which Wilson lead the team in tries, Wilson's name had come into contention for the Highlanders 2007

Super 14 Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Building on various Southern Hem ...

season. He eventually got called into the squad as a replacement player, being an accomplished goal kicker also helped his causes. He was a regular starter of the Highlanders

Squad in 2008, playing mostly at 10, and in 2009 a member of the Chiefs squad who eventually lost the 2009 Super Rugby final to the Bulls. Immediately post the 2011 NPC season with Southland, Wilson had signed a two-year deal with ProD2 side CSBJ in France. Wilson was used initially at 15 for the first half of his first season but eventually made his way in to lead the team at 10 with strong showings at 12 also. Wilson would only play the one season in France, he would join English Premiership side

Northampton Saints Northampton Saints (officially Northampton Rugby Football Club) is a professional rugby union club from Northampton, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. They were formed in 1880 as "Northampton St. James", ...

after the summer break. Wilson joined

for the 2012–13 season making his Premiership debut starting at 15 against

Worcester Warriors Worcester Warriors Rugby Football Club is a professional rugby union club, based in Worcester, England, that is currently in Administration (law), administration and which has been suspended and will be relegated from Premiership Rugby, the top ...

. Wilson making an immediate impact at his new club, scoring a brace of tries in only his second appearance. Wilson went on to scoring 4 tries in 13 appearances, playing in a number of positions throughout, finishing the 2012–13 season starting the

Aviva Premiership Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition. The Premiership has consisted of thirteen clubs since 2021, and is the ...

Final against

Leicester Tigers Leicester Tigers (officially Leicester Football Club) are a professional rugby union club based in Leicester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1880 and since 1892 plays its hom ...

wearing the 13 jersey. The utility back also came off the bench in Saints' historic

title winning final in 2014 and their

European Challenge Cup The EPCR Challenge Cup is an annual rugby union competition organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the second-tier competition for clubs based in European leagues behind the European Rugby Champions Cup. From its inception i ...

win that same season. Wilson also helped Saints' second team the Northampton Wanderers reach the Aviva 'A' League final where they beat Gloucester United to lift the trophy. It was announced on 6 May 2017 that Wilson would leave Saints at the conclusion of the 2016/17 season. Wilson joined

Bath Rugby Bath Rugby is a professional rugby union club in Bath, Somerset, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. Founded in 1865 as Bath Football Club, since 1894 the club has played at the Recreation Ground in the c ...

for the 2017-18 season, going on to make 20 appearances. At the end of the season, Wilson returned to his home town club of

Southland Rugby Rugby Southland (formerly the Southland Rugby Football Union) is the provincial rugby union who govern the Southland region of New Zealand. Their headquarters are at Rugby Park Stadium in Invercargill, which is also the home ground of the unio ...

for the summer of 2018. In November 2018, Wilson rejoined Bath Rugby on a contract until the end of the season. It was announced on 29 April 2019 that Wilson would leave Bath and the end of the 2018/19 season and join the Mitsubishi Dynoboars for the 2019/20 season. Wilson revealed on Instagram that he would be retiring from professional rugby at the end of the 2021 season. He has since begun a role as assistant coach of his hometown team

Rugby Southland Rugby Southland (formerly the Southland Rugby Football Union) is the provincial rugby union who govern the Southland, New Zealand, Southland region of New Zealand. Their headquarters are at Rugby Park Stadium in Invercargill, which is also the ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, James Living people New Zealand rugby union players Highlanders (rugby union) players Chiefs (rugby union) players Southland rugby union players Northampton Saints players Bath Rugby players CS Bourgoin-Jallieu players Rugby union players from Invercargill 1983 births New Zealand expatriate rugby union players New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in France New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate rugby union players in France Expatriate rugby union players in England Rugby union centres