At club level he played with Bennettsbridge and was also a member of the Kilkenny senior hurling team.
[1] Simpson first came to prominence at juvenile and underage levels with the Bennettsbridge club, however, his early sporting life was dominated by soccer.
[2] As a centre half of sweeper with his local club East End, he won every honour in the Kilkenny and District League.
At imter-county level, Simpson was overlooked for the Kilkenny minor and under-21 teams, however, he won an All-Ireland Junior Championship title in 1990.
Simspon was corner-back on the Kilkenny team that won consecutive All-Ireland CHampionship titles in 1992 and 1993.