Wibble Rugby: YouTube’s Finest Rugby Analyst

Rugby is a complicated sport; there’s no denying it. But there are a fighting few who are doing their best to make it simpler, and Wibble Rugby is one of them.

Conor Wilson, more commonly known as ‘Wibble Rugby’, is a YouTuber with over 13,000 subscribers. The content he produces are analysis videos, typically breaking down how specific teams play the game in order to educate and help viewers understand what they’re watching on a deeper level.

“One of my biggest strengths, I think, is taking really complex subject matter and breaking it down into really simple bite-size, easy-to-digest chunks. That’s what I enjoy doing,” Wilson explained.

He added: “I start with an overall view. And think, let’s go deeper into it and let’s show how this works, how they operate, and that’s what I enjoy doing, coming up with new metaphors or new visuals.”

Wilson’s videos have been a real inspiration to me as a writer and someone who wants to understand the game in a more detailed way, and he explained that was his aim when starting the channel.

“We need more educated viewers. We need viewers who ask more questions. I want to be able to break down concepts and just have them really easy to understand. I want people coming out of watching my videos thinking, ‘Wow, that was a lot, but I understood every word of it.’ That is what I really aim for.

“As long as people keep enjoying my videos, keep getting educated and keep thinking about the game deeper, that’s what I want.”

The types of videos that he produces vary in topic but are consistently brilliant. His analysis of the French attack has over 220k views, and his most recent video is a 71-minute deep-dive into how the Springboks have evolved as a side, especially in their attack in phase play and constant tactical innovations. I questioned Wilson on how he approached making such a giant of a project.

“It’s like a murder mystery. I always liken it to a classic whodunit, and the whodunit, in this case, is what the team is trying to do. You’re given all the clues beforehand on the pitch and then it’s figuring out how that happened. Or, like a puzzle, you have the overall picture, but why do all the pieces fit together?

“But it’s just about asking why. Why is that happening? Why are they like that? Looking back at the previous phases and just trying to find a pattern? Then, you can see the principles, philosophies and actions of what a team is trying to do. It won’t look the same exactly the same every time, but the same principles are being followed.”

Whilst Wibble’s content is enjoyed by thousands, there is another rugby YouTuber that people perhaps may be more aware of: Squidge Rugby.

Squidge has 250k subscribers and has created content for World Rugby as well as being one of the new stars of ITV’s ‘Gallagher Premiership Unleashed’ highlight show.

Wibble explained that not only was Squidge an inspiration to him and his channel, but also a real mentor.

“Robbie [Squidge] has been nothing but a gentleman. I reached out to him, and it turned out he’d been following my articles for a long time. He was very kind, and we arranged a sit-down where he talked me through what kind of software he uses.

“Over time, my videos have gotten a lot better, and a lot of that was down to Robbie giving me tips and advice. I was very grateful for that because in content creation, it’s easy to get competitive and feel threatened by somebody creating the same kind of thing as you, but I never felt any of that from Robbie.

“He’s the undisputed king of YouTube Rugby analysis. I think our videos kind of go in different directions anyway, but he has all the time in the world for me, and we still regularly have called.”

However, whilst YouTube is a full-time venture for Squidge Rugby, it’s not the case for Wibble.

“I will keep on doing videos as long as I can, but sometimes I see people in the comments saying, ‘We want more Wibble!’ and that really means a lot.

“But simultaneously, I’ve been studying for the past year for a master’s in data science, and I have a job as a senior data analyst at a company down in London, which I really enjoy.

“I can’t produce content on the scale that Robbie does. It takes me three weeks on average to do a video working around my job.”

With the channel being a passion project, it was clear that Wilson holds not only his content but also the game at large very near and dear to his heart, and I was keen to get an understanding of where that drive to educate came from.

“I started the channel to combat those voices of the clickbaity uninformed writers because people were reading that and believing it. And I couldn’t sit by and let that happen.

“Especially when you have certain players who are brilliant players, and their mental health is getting affected, withdrawing from England selection because they just don’t want the rubbish that comes with it.

“Some people are very happy just to sit back and listen to the same old rhetoric and believe it and buy into it, but I think that the game is going away from that now.

“That’s why I think my videos have seen a bit of rise in popularity that people are getting sick of that and they’re getting more behind the proper rugby journalism because it provokes discussion. It provokes a reaction.”

“One thing that I really do take a lot of heart from is that people, people seem to watch my videos most of the way through which means they’re enjoying and engaging with it.”

Wilson, in my mind, is the epitome of the proper rugby journalism he eludes to, bringing an incredible level of analysis on a digestible scale for even the average viewer to understand and enjoy, and his content continues to provoke the right discussions and engagement around our beautiful game.