Simon Shaw: Former England rugby union player, Founder of Simon Shaw Rugby and President of Love of the Game

On this episode, Caroline Donaghue and Priya Rawal welcome the first sportsman to the episode, Simon Shaw MBE. Simon is a prominent former England rugby union player, current Head of Sustainable Technology Partnerships for N2S, and President of charity, Love of the Game.

Simon had an idyllic childhood in Nairobi until his family had to flee from a volatile political election, his family suddenly moved to Gainsborough for a short while before relocating to Madrid. These sudden changes in his youth prepared Simon for an equally storied career. At age 15, Simon started his career in rugby and he maintained a successful career in professional rugby, during which he played for the biggest teams in rugby: Bristol, London Wasps and Toulon. He was part of the winning World Cup team in 2003, winning 71 caps for England between 1996 and 2011 and 2 for the British & Irish Lions. Since retiring from the sport, Simon has reinvented himself in the business world, working in both sustainable technology and hospitality sector while simultaneously founding his own charity, Love of the Game which aims to tackle concussion in sports.

This is an episode where Simon reflects on the magnitude of his rugby tours, the glory years at Wasps, playing alongside the world’s greatest players at and never giving up.