by Life is good for Jack Willis. After he and his fiancée, Megan, got engaged by the sea three months ago, they welcomed a daughter into the world last week. Together with Enzo, their two-year-old boy, the family is enjoying the south of France.
Willis was relieved to return to the pitch against Toulon two days before Christmas, having recovered from neck surgery. He is very grateful to Toulouse, the club he helped to the Top 14 title, and wants to help them win a sixth European crown.
But the 27-year-old wears his heart on his sleeve. When mentioning the World Cup, he can’t help but be honest. Willis scored the final goal of England’s 71-0 win over Chile. A day later, however, his tournament was ended after that one appearance. Willis woke up with reduced strength in his left arm, but did his best to press on and put himself in the frame to face Samoa. A crash in training made matters worse and scans showed a bulging disc that was compressing the nerve supply.
“I talked to the surgeon on Tuesday night, I think,” Willis remembers. “Then I was off at 6am the next morning back to England to see if an injection would work. I couldn’t get back into the team environment or say goodbye to everyone.”
It’s not unfair to suggest that the harrowing experience marked another downfall in a year of acceleration, which saw Wasps’ abysmal relegation slump and the insurmountable defeat of La Rochelle in the top 14. Willis started four Six Nations games but was starving in time for the World Cup game. Reliably, he’s wondering if he “really added to the group”.
When he signed for Toulouse last November, Willis became a pawn in a lively debate about England’s eligibility rules. The talk has hardly died down since then, with the plight of Henry Arundell, who chose to stay at Racing 92 rather than return to the Premiership, only increasing the views on both sides. Willis powerfully describes two aspects of his situation. Firstly, he felt the goalposts of eligibility were being moved during his extension negotiations with Toulouse. Second, Willis reiterates the uncertainty he and Arundell, formerly a London Irishman, were pushing into.
“For me, the choice to stay here was based on being in a place where I was going to be pushed to be the best I could be,” he says. “It’s changed a little bit as to whether the rule would change. When I was signing, it was going to change. Now he has done the complete opposite.
“I don’t change my decision because I feel I made the right decision for myself, my career and my family. I think one thing that is sometimes put aside is that every player at Wasps, Worcester and London Irish was let down by the system at that club and let down significantly to the point where you couldn’t provide for your family in the months later.
“There are my friends who haven’t found another job yet. And you don’t get over that quickly or regain confidence right away. Toulouse brought me in when I had no other offer in England. The opportunity they have given me is incredible and I will always give everything I have to the club.”
Uniquely, during last year’s Six Nations, Willis was something of a guinea pig for the possible logistics of changing the rules of Rugby Football Union and players from foreign leagues being able to represent England again. He has had to watch the Channel a few times, and was overlooked in the final against Scotland after missing the first week of training, but he believes the system can work.
“I would definitely do it again,” declares Willis. “That’s the first thing I would say. The second thing is that Toulouse could not be more supportive. After not being selected for the Scotland game because I hadn’t trained the week before, I was gutted. But the club said ‘look, what do you need to do?’ They asked if I wanted to go back for eight weeks and be there the whole time. We had a really open dialogue between you, Richard Hill [the England team manager] and the guys here.
“Steve [Borthwick, the England head coach] and Hilly was brilliant and Toulouse was excellent. We have shown that it can work, but the RFU have to make decisions about what they think is best for the future. I can’t sit here and comment on that. From a personal point of view, I want to be here and play for England. They have to consider a lot more than that. I understand that.”
Known as a tough, disruptive defender, Willis is looking to expand his horizons as a full-back. “If I look back at some of my early Wasps games, it would be ‘catch the ball, head down, hold it back,'” he said. “Here, if you want to add to the attack and defense, you have to open up your game.” He has been doing plenty of post-training extras with David Mélé, assistant coach to Ugo Mola, and appreciates how Toulouse encourage players to push their limits in team training sessions.
Willis already seems to have developed a strong rapport with the supporters. He considered the Top 14 final at the Stade de France, a tense affair that featured Romain Ntamack’s wonder effort, as the best atmosphere he had ever experienced. There was a very funny celebration afterwards and Willis does not mind admitting that he gave up during a victory parade when he saw, from the team bus, around 25,000 people crowding the city’s Le Capitole square.
Earlier this month, Borthwick expressed his desire for Arundell and Joe Marchant to return to Premiership clubs, from Racing 92 and Stade Francais respectively, to be available ahead of the 2027 World Cup. Contrary to Will Carling’s claim that England’s duty slipping from the “pinnacle” of players’ ambitions, Willis insists that wearing a white shirt will “always be a priority”. So too, though, he’ll be playing in big club games.
With the added responsibility of a young family, Willis says any potential move could not be rushed. “Whatever opportunity there is to bring me back, it has to be right in a lot of ways,” he says. “That’s always the case when you move a club. In the here and now, after all the turmoil I had last year, I’m enjoying having a bit of stability over the next few years and focusing on how good I can be for this club.
“It’s not so easy to say ‘move your life back to England now’. Other factors must be in proportion. One thing I want to be clear about is that I will always want to play for England. I understand how competitive it is. It was clear to me that with the stage I’m at and the little I’ve had to do with the World Cup, I have to focus on getting better if I have any hope of coming back – or [be ready] if the rule changes – and be able to make a more regular feature. I have to be playing rugby, wherever I am, and improving every game.”
The biggest compliment one could pay Willis is that he truly enriched a squad adorned by stars such as Julien Marchand, Cyril Baille, Emmanuel Meafou, Thomas Ramos, Ange Capuozzo and the brightest of them all in Antoine Dupont. This weekend against Bath, Willis starts in a back row that also includes Anthony Jelonch and François Cros. Scotland goalkeeper Blair Kinghorn is also settling in nicely. Toulouse lost to Leinster in the semi-final of the Champions Cup last year, and Willis was very competitive in the win. Beating Bath, after defeating Cardiff, Harlequins and Ulster, should see the Mola side at home for the last 16 and later in the competition. Willis points out that there is a huge league clash against Racing 92 before the Six Nations, a competition that could be difficult for him.
“I’m an England supporter as well as someone who’s very lucky to have played for them,” he says. “I will always keep an eye on the progress that is being made, and I wish the boys in the squad and the coaches the best of luck in the competition. But I can’t be too soft on him. I can’t watch it thinking, ‘I’m losing out’. I have to think, ‘This is my reality’.”
“I feel comfortable with the decision I have made. If I’m honest, things have changed around. I thought maybe things were still open and things change, but that’s how the world works. I am very grateful for the opportunity I have now.”
Willis’ chance now is to continue to excel for Toulouse and remind those in England, and everywhere, of his rare ability to influence games. Anything else is beyond their control.
