Gareth Simpson (born 2 November 1997) is an English born South African rugby union player.
| Birth name | Gareth Grant Simpson | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 2 November 1997 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Coventry, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 83 kg (13 st 1 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Simpson played in the Currie Cup for Sharks in his native South Africa and also had a stint playing for Wellington in the Mitre 10 Cup in New Zealand before he moved to England. He joined the Worcester Warriors academy in the summer of 2019 having spent the second half of the 2018–19 season on trial at Sixways Stadium.[1] He played regularly for the Cavaliers in the Premiership Rugby Shield and for Stourbridge in National League 2 North.[2]
Simpson played for the Warriors in the Premiership Rugby Sevens Series at Northampton in September 2019.[3] He made his senior debut off the bench in the Premiership Rugby Cup 57–23 victory over Leicester Tigers at Sixways the following week.[4] He scored his first Warriors try when he came on as a replacement in the European Rugby Challenge Cup victory over Enisei-STM in Russia.[5]
Simpson was included in a Gallagher Premiership squad for the first time when he was an unused replacement against Exeter Chiefs in November 2019[6] and made his debut in the competition at Wasps in August 2020.[7]
Having impressed in the first three months of the 2019–20 season, Simpson signed a two-year contract, his first full-time professional deal, thus promoted to the senior squad from the 2020–21 season.[8]
On 5 October 2022 all Worcester players had their contacts terminated due to the liquidation of the company to which they were contracted.[9]
After Worcester was liqudated, he spent time with Saracens as injury cover from the start of the 2022-23 season. On 2 April 2023, Simpson would move to Australia to sign for Western Force for the 2023 Super Rugby Pacific season.[10] This is because he would re-join Saracens on a permanent two-year deal back in the Premiership for the 2023-24 season.[11]
References
edit- ^ "Gareth Simpson on trial with Worcester Warriors". Malvern Gazette. 4 April 2019. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
- ^ "Gareth Simpson Rugby Profile". Stourbridge Rugby. 5 November 2020. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
- ^ "Rugby 7s Players meet Scrum Half Gareth Simpson at Worcester Warriors". Winterfold House. 27 February 2020. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
- ^ "Match report - Tigers young guns come up short at Worcester". Leicester Tigers. 21 September 2019. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
- ^ "Enisei STM 14 - 57 Worcester Warriors". Sky Sports. 15 November 2019. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
- ^ "Worcester Warriors 20-24 Exeter Chiefs". Ultimate Rugby. 4 November 2019. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
- ^ "Premiership: Wasps 32-17 Worcester Warriors". BBC Sport. 21 August 2020. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
- ^ "Gareth Simpson: Worcester Warriors' versatile back signs two-year deal". BBC Sport. 19 November 2019. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
- ^ "Worcester player and staff contracts terminated after high court ruling | Worcester | The Guardian". amp.theguardian.com. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
- ^ "Ex-Worcester scrum-half scores first try in Super Rugby". Worcester News. 2 April 2023. Retrieved 29 November 2024.
- ^ "Gareth Simpson to re-join Saracens for 23/24 campaign". Saracens. 14 February 2023. Retrieved 29 November 2024.
External links
edit- Worcester Warriors profile
- Ultimate Rugby profile
- Gareth Simpson at ESPNscrum
- Gareth Simpson at All.Rugby