#11 Heads Up - Interview with Rodger Wilson

Episode 11: Ed Day speaks to Roger Wilson; a former professional rugby union player with over 350 professional games throughout his 15-year career.

Having played for Ulster, the Northampton Saints, and Ireland, he was called to represent both the prestigious Barbarian and World XV teams in 2014, before retiring from professional sports in 2017 as Ulster’s player with the highest number of appearances ever. Aside from sports, Roger has travelled to more than 30 countries around the world and holds a BSc and a Masters. Along with his wife and two young children, he recently moved to Texas, where he is currently pursuing the next chapter in life.

About the podcast:
The Heads-Up Podcast are a series of interviews with ex-professional male rugby players, elite female players and coaches about concussion in the sport. The podcasts discuss their early careers and very open commentary about the realities of professional rugby. Heads-Up discusses insights into injury (specifically concussion), how they managed then and how they continue to manage with life after a professional career. The players offer insights into the culture around the game, their concussion experiences and their observations on player welfare, protective equipment and law changes to the game.  

About Ed Daly:
Ed Daly has over thirteen years of experience in sports coach education and more than five years of lecturing experience in third-level institutes. Ed is currently a PhD researcher focused on investigating concussion identification, concussion management and concussion reduction strategies.

Ed is an active PhD research scientist (Oxford Brookes University) specializing in concussion education, managing athlete workload, objective concussion diagnosis and post-concussion management. Currently developing research for the Irish Concussion Research Centre (ICRC) based in GMIT.

Ed is a lecture in Galway Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT) in the area of Sport & Exercise Science within the School of Science & Computing. Programme coordinator for MSc (strength & conditioning).

Before moving to a career in lecturing, Ed worked in professional sports and spent over ten years as a coach with Munster Rugby, coaching age-grade players on the professional player development pathway and in injury incidence reduction via workload management (specializing in the area of strength & conditioning).

Contact Details:
Ed Daly
Email: Ed.Daly@gmit.ie