Joe Simpson (born 5 July 1988) is a rugby union player who plays scrum half for Gloucester, the England national rugby union team and represents Team GB by playing rugby sevens.
Early life
Simpson was born in Australia to a New Zealand mother and English father, both rugby enthusiasts. He has one younger brother called Michael.
Simpson was educated at St Benedict's School, Ealing, which he represented at both rugby and cricket and where he was honoured as Victor Ludorum for athletics three times, at junior, middle and senior school levels. Outside school he played cricket for Ealing Cricket Club and played with Hugo Ellis and Dominic Waldouck, in the youth team at Richmond Rugby Club.
In addition to his parents Simpson cites Mike Reilly and Alun Powell, his coaches at Richmond and the Wasps Academy respectively, as influences.
Club career
Simpson joined the Wasps England Rugby Academy full-time from St Benedict's School in the summer of 2006, but spent much of the subsequent two years at Blackheath Rugby Club on loan.
In the 2008/09 season Simpson graduated to the Wasps first team, coming on as a substitute a number of times and gaining a more frequent position in the starting XV towards the latter part of the season. He scored on his debut and was awarded fourth place in the Guinness Premiership Try of the Season award.
Simpson signed a full-time senior contract with Wasps in the summer of 2009 securing his place at the club for two years. He was in the starting line-up for the opening game of the season on 5 September 2009 against Harlequins, played at Twickenham as part of the London Double Header. In the first minute Simpson was head-butted by George Robson, the Harlequins' lock, in an off-the-ball incident. After treatment on the field for a cut sustained to his nose Simpson continued to play for the remaining 79 minutes, despite feeling sick and dizzy.
On 17 December 2010, Wasps announced that Simpson had signed a three-year extension to his contract which will keep him at the club until the end of the 2013/14 season.
Simpson underwent surgery after suffering an ankle injury in Wasps' 51-10 European Champions Cup win over Leinster on 23 January 2016.
"It is obviously disappointing for everyone that Joe has had to undergo surgery on his ankle, especially at a time when he was playing so well. I'm sure he was knocking on the door for international recognition." said Wasps boss Dai Young.
Simpson's injury, just a week before the start of the Six Nations, ends any hopes he might have had of getting an England recall this season under new coach Eddie Jones. This is Simpson's second major injury in less than a year, having been stretchered off in the 26–21 home defeat by Leicester in May 2015 with a medial collateral ligament blow, dashing his hopes of making the World Cup squad.
On 6 February 2019, it was confirmed that Simpson would move to Gloucester in time for the 2019–20 season.