Roger Wilson (born 21 September 1981) is an Irish former

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, who played at number eight for

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...

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", ...

and

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. Since retiring in 2017, he has worked in the United States, coaching American football players in rugby tackling techniques.

Career

Club

Despite a one-time interest in a football career, Wilson played school rugby at

RBAI The Royal Belfast Academical Institution is an independent grammar school in Belfast, Northern Ireland. With the support of Belfast's leading reformers and democrats, it opened its doors in 1814. Until 1849, when it was superseded by what today is ...

and was a member of the 1998 and 2000 schools cup winning teams. After being spotted during his time at Trinity College, following a third division game, Wilson signed his first professional contract with Ulster. He held down a regular starting spot in the Ulster XV after his debut in September 2003 against the Ospreys, aged 21, and claimed the Ulster Player of the Year Award for the 2003–04 and 2006-07 seasons. Wilson played every game for Ulster in the 2006–07 season and accumulated the most minutes on the pitch (1,591 minutes and 26 caps). On 25 January 2008,

announced that he had signed to the club for the 2008–09 season. He became a regular starter and earned over 100 caps for the Saints, helping them win the

2008–09 European Challenge Cup The 2008–09 European Challenge Cup was the 13th season of the European Challenge Cup, the annual rugby union European club competition for clubs from six nations in European rugby. It started in October 2008 and ended with the final at the Twick ...

and the

2009–10 LV Cup The 2009–10 LV Cup (styled as the LV= Cup) was the 39th season of England's national rugby union cup competition, and the fifth to follow the Anglo-Welsh format. Northampton Saints were crowned champions after beating Gloucester in the final at ...

, and reach the final of the

2010–11 Heineken Cup The 2010–11 Heineken Cup was the 16th season of the Heineken Cup, the annual rugby union European club competition for clubs from the top six nations in European rugby. It started with three matches on 8 October 2010 and ended on 21 May 2011 wi ...

."RUGBY: Roger Wilson has no regrets"
''News Letter'', 4 May 2017 On 18 January 2012,

confirmed that Wilson was to return to the province for the start of next season. He joined Ulster on a three-year deal. He retired at the end of 2016-17 season, having made more than 200 appearances for Ulster.

Representative

Wilson won his only

cap in June 2005 during the tour to Japan. He was part of the Ireland A squad that participated in the

Churchill Cup The Churchill Cup was an annual rugby union tournament, held in June, contested by representative men's (and formerly women's) teams from Canada, England, the United States, and other invited teams (originally one and later three) from a wide arr ...

in the USA and Canada in June 2006. He was again selected for the Ireland A

Tour in June 2007. He was called up to the senior Ireland squad for the

2015 Six Nations Championship The 2015 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2015 RBS 6 Nations because of the tournament's sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 16th series of the Six Nations Championship, the annual rugby union tournament. It was contested b ...

. Wilson has commented that he has been frustrated at not being able to play more for Ireland, however he is happy that he has been able to sustain a long career at the highest level of professional rugby. In May 2014 he was called up to play for the Barbarians against an England XV and in the same month he was Ireland's only representative in a World XV which played in an exhibition game against South Africa.

Coaching

After retiring, Wilson became head coach of

Instonians Instonians is a sports club based in Belfast, Northern Ireland, that incorporates rugby union, men's and ladies' hockey and cricket sections. There is also a golf society that plays under the Instonians name. Instonians Rugby Football, Cricke ...

rugby club in Belfast in June 2017.Tacklesmart - Coach's Bio
/ref> He later moved to Dallas, Texas, initially working as a strength and conditioning coach at the Michael Johnson Performance Centre, before setting up Tacklesmart, a coaching company teaching rugby tackling techniques to American football players.

Honours

Ulster Rugby * Celtic Cup: Winners 2003 *

Celtic League The Celtic League is a pan-Celtic organisation, founded in 1961, that aims to promote modern Celtic identity and culture in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Brittany, Cornwall and the Isle of Man – referred to as the Celtic nations; it places part ...

: Winners 2006 Northampton Saints *

European Rugby 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 ...

: Winners 2009 * LV Cup: Winners 2010 *

Heineken Cup The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Heineken Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a pre ...

: Runners-Up 2011

Personal life

Wilson's grandfather, Harry McKibbin and his two uncles, Harry Jnr and Alastair, have also represented Ireland at rugby union. Wilson married his Brazilian girlfriend

Nathalia Melo Nathalia ( ) is a town in northern Victoria, Australia. The town is located within the Shire of Moira local government area on the banks of Broken Creek and on the Murray Valley Highway. At the 2021 census, Nathalia had a population of 1,982. ...

in June 2015.

References

External links

RogerWilson.comTacklesmart official websiteUlster profile

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Roger 1981 births Living people Irish rugby union players Ireland international rugby union players Ulster Rugby players Belfast Harlequins rugby union players Dublin University Football Club players Northampton Saints players Ireland Wolfhounds international rugby union players Instonians rugby union players Rugby union number eights Rugby union players from Belfast