Wilson’s new deal gives him more time to work on his Scots accent
● Hampshire-born Warriors skipper jokes he couldn’t play down south anymore
Glasgow Warriors skipper Ryan Wilson didn’t need much convincing to sign a two-year contract at the club and insisted there was never any chance of being lured by the riches of England or France.
“Definitely not England,” said Wilson with a Hampshire accent as broad as his grin. “I’m not liked down there very much.”
Aldershot-born Wilson, who was cleared after being cited for a clash with Nathan Hughes in this year’s Calcutta Cup win over the land of his birth, joined Glasgow in 2010 and the new deal will take him to a decade with the club he has taken to his heart and now captains.
The 28-year-old added: “It’s good, not only for me but for the family. The kids [Ava, Jaxon and Bella] have started school here now. Glasgow has become my home. I have been eight years up here. All three of them were born here and they’re starting to get Scottish accents, which is even better. I just have to work on my Scottish accent now.”
It is now more than three years since Wilson’s career was in the balance when he was suspended from club and country and fined after an assault conviction.
He has now been capped 37 times and has embraced the opportunity given by Dave Rennie to captain the Warriors.
“It has been good. It has been tough at times but there are players in the leaders’ group with me who do just as much as I do, if not more,” said Wilson. “There are a lot of leaders in the squad who stand up and speak and do a lot of the stuff that captains do. They’re behind me all the way and they have helped me massively.
“I don’t think [the captaincy] has changed me. I maybe look at thing s a little bit more seriously now. I was more of a joker before I became captain and I’ve reined that in a little bit. But I think I’ve stayed pretty much the same. You’d have to ask the boys that one – they might have something different to say.”
For his part, Rennie was full of praise of the back-row forward. “He’s a good man Ryan,” said the coach. “I mentioned that when I named him captain at the start of the year. He’s impressive.
“He loves this club. The boys love him. He’s tough. He’s willing to prod guys in the chest. He’s demanding but he cares about the men and prepared to put an arm around them and help them get through stuff. He’s got a really good way about him and it’s important to have those people who are prepared to put the work in on the field but know there’s an important role to play off it.”
With the contract dealt with, Wilson’s sole focus now is getting back on the pitch after recovering from a chest injury. There are certainly no thoughts from him that he’d rather have an extra week in cotton wool before next month’s home Guinness Pro14 semi-final. The fact the final regular season game is an 1872 Cup decider against play-off chasing Edinburgh at BT Murrayfield means the skipper is like a coiled spring in anticipation of the weekend.
“It’s not meaningless whatsoever. I couldn’t think of a better game to get us ready for a semifinal,” he said.
“We didn’t do too well in Ulster at the weekend there [losing 36-15 in Belfast], so it’s a big test and that’s probably the best thing for us at the moment. And on a personal note I need some rugby under my belt before going into semifinals, but also the 1872 Cup means something to us. I’m here to play for Glasgow.”