Following his move from Huddersfield Giants to Wigan Warriors, prop Oliver Wilson has opened up on what made him join the Cherry and Whites, and what he hopes to achieve during his time at the club.
Wigan paid a “substantial” undisclosed fee for Wilson, with the prop penning a four-year deal. He leaves the Claret and Gold having made just over a century of appearances.
The Bradford academy graduate made his Super League debut in 2019, and has gradually improved year-on-year.
Now 25, he has earned a move to one of the competition’s biggest clubs, and will look to kick on and develop even further in the Warriors set-up.
With Wilson being under contract at Huddersfield until 2028, a move away wasn’t one that was expected. He has now revealed how the move came about, and why Wigan is the best place for him to continue his career.
Speaking to Wigan Today, Wilson said: “Towards the backend of the season, me and Huddersfield had an honest conversation about my future, and both parties agreed that it was probably best that I move on.
“Then it became about finding the right club for me. Luckily for me, Wigan were interested, and as soon as I heard that, I was pretty set that was where I wanted to go. I told my agent that is the club I want to be at – and thankfully, we managed to make it happen.”
On the Warriors and their selling point, he added: “From the outside looking in, it’s a club that I’ve always respected massively.
“You can tell with the way they play that there’s a strong culture, and I think it’s probably the team off the field too, with how they treat their fans and even their past players. It’s something other teams look up to, so that was a massive part of it.”
Wigan Warriors recruit talks England goals and recalls Challenge Cup heartache
Not only will Wilson get to train in some of the league’s best training facilities, he will also get to work under one of the most successful coaches in the game at the moment – Matt Peet.
Whilst the pair have never been on the same team, the new recruit revealed that the pair do have history, and recalls a time where he faced Peet as a youngster.
He said: “I’ve known about Matty for a while because when I was at Bradford Under-19s, I think he was the head coach of Wigan’s Academy, so we’ve known of each other for a while,”
“We talked about goals for next year – obviously to win stuff – and how I fit into that,”
“It’s all been really positive. He’s nice to speak to, seems like an honest bloke, and I’m excited to get working with him.”
Wilson played in arguably the biggest game of his career, at club level at least, against Wigan, when his Huddersfield side faced them in the 2022 Challenge Cup Final.
Held at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the Giants were in a prime position to take the trophy, until a late try from Liam Marshall snatched the victory away from them.
On that game, he said: “I thought we were flying that year at Huddersfield, and it probably derailed a bit after that game,”
“We were winning until the last five minutes when Wigan took the edge, but it was a great game at a great stadium. It’ll be nice for rugby league to go back there again – it was a special occasion.”
The 25-year-old has one England appearance to his name currently, with that coming against France in 2024. He is looking to add to that singular cap, and with the World Cup at the end of 2026, there is no bigger motivation.
“That’s always my goal,” he said. “It’s the pinnacle of sport to play for your country. My aim this year is to do well at Wigan, and hopefully that comes hand in hand with being selected for England again.”
Wilson revealed that whilst most of his teammates will be completely new to him, there are some players, from his time as an academy player with England, that he knows and will be able to bond with.
“Ethan Havard, Harry Smith and Sam Walters were all in the England Academy side when we played the Australian Schoolboys in 2018,” he said. “I also roomed with Thommo (Luke Thompson) last year for England against France, so I know a few of the lads.”
As it stands, Wilson’s Wigan debut could come at the start of February, with Wigan hosting a pre-season friendly against Hull FC as part of Marshall’s testimonial year.
Check out the latest episode of The Serious About Rugby League Show on our YouTube channel here.
