Jack Willis (rugby union)

Jack Willis
Full nameJack Steven Arthur Willis
Date of birth (1996-12-24) 24 December 1996 (age 27)
Place of birthReading, England
Height1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Weight110 kg (243 lb; 17 st 5 lb)[1]
SchoolThe Henley College
Notable relative(s)Tom Willis (brother)
Rugby union career
Position(s) Flanker
Current team Toulouse
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2016–2022 Wasps 83 (105)
2022– Toulouse 34 (40)
Correct as of 27 May 2024
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2016 England U20 7 (0)
2020– England 14 (20)
Correct as of 23 September 2023

Jack Steven Willis (born 24 December 1996) is an English professional rugby union player who plays as a flanker for Top 14 club Toulouse and the England national team.

Club career

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Willis played junior rugby for Reading Abbey R.F.C. before joining the Wasps Senior Academy in 2015.[2] In November 2016 he made his first senior start for Wasps in an Anglo-Welsh Cup game against Sale Sharks.[3] Later that month he made his Premiership debut against the same opponent.[3]

After an exceptional 2019–2020 season which saw Wasps finish runners up to Exeter Chiefs in the Premiership final,[4] Willis was the recipient of multiple awards, including: The "players' player of the year" award, the Premiership "Player of the Season" award, and the "Discovery of the Season" award.[5][6]

Wasps entered administration on 17 October 2022 and Willis was made redundant along with all other players and coaching staff.[7] On 24 November, he joined France's most-successful club Toulouse in the Top 14 competition with immediate effect.[8][9]

International career

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Willis was a member of the England under-20 team that hosted the 2016 World Rugby Under 20 Championship and came off the bench as England defeated Ireland in the final.[10] In 2018 he was named in the England senior squad for their tour to South Africa.[11] A knee injury sustained in the Premiership semi-final defeat against Saracens ruled him out of the tour.[12]

In October 2020 Willis was again called up by coach Eddie Jones to train with the senior squad as they completed their Six Nations campaign.[13] The following month he made his Test debut starting in their opening Autumn Nations Cup fixture against Georgia at Twickenham on 14 November 2020 which saw him open the scoring with a debut try in the 15th minute as England won 40-0.[14]

Willis scored a try against Italy during the 2023 Six Nations Championship.[15] Later that year coach Steve Borthwick included him in the squad for the 2023 Rugby World Cup.[16] He scored a try on his only appearance of the tournament in a pool stage game against Chile.[17] However a neck injury sustained by Willis in that match ruled him out of the rest of the competition.[18]

Career statistics

[edit]

List of international tries

[edit]
As of 23 September 2023[1]
Try Opposing team Location Venue Competition Date Result Score
1  Georgia London, England Twickenham Stadium Autumn Nations Cup 14 November 2020 Win 40 – 0
2  Italy London, England Twickenham Stadium 2021 Six Nations 13 February 2021 Win 41 – 18
3  Italy London, England Twickenham Stadium 2023 Six Nations 12 February 2023 Win 31 – 14
4  Chile Lille, France Stade Pierre-Mauroy 2023 Rugby World Cup 23 September 2023 Win 71 – 0

Honours

[edit]
Toulouse

References

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  1. ^ a b "Jack WILLIS: profile and stats". All.Rugby.
  2. ^ Morgan, Charlie (5 May 2023). "Jack and Tom Willis: the brothers who became team-mates – and now Top 14 rivals". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
  3. ^ a b "Jack Willis". Wasps RFC. Archived from the original on 25 November 2020. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  4. ^ Pilnick, Brent (24 October 2020). "Premiership Final: Exeter beat Wasps 19-13 to secure historic double". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
  5. ^ "Premiership Rugby Awards 2020 - click here for all the winners". Premiership Rugby. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  6. ^ "Jack Willis: Wasps flanker voted Rugby Player's Association Player of the Year". Sky Sports. 14 October 2020. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
  7. ^ Bridge, Bobby (17 October 2022). "Wasps' administration confirmed as 167 employees made redundant". CoventryLive. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  8. ^ "Jack Willis: England and former Wasps flanker joins Toulouse". BBC Sport. 25 November 2022. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
  9. ^ @StadeToulousain (24 November 2022). "Jack Willis est désormais Stadiste" [Jack Willis is a Stadiste] (Tweet) (in French) – via Twitter.
  10. ^ "Dominant England blow Ireland away in U20 World Cup final". The Irish Independent. 25 June 2016. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  11. ^ "Jack Willis keen to become a big hit for Wasps and England – in more ways than one". Inews. 18 May 2018. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  12. ^ "Jack Willis: Wasps flanker sidelined for up to 12 months with knee injury". BBC Sport. 22 May 2018. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  13. ^ Jones, Chris (26 October 2020). "Willis & Umaga called into England squad". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  14. ^ Grey, Becky (14 November 2020). "England 40-0 Georgia". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
  15. ^ Mann, Mantej (12 February 2023). "England 31-14 Italy: Jack Willis reflects on 'emotional' try after rollercoaster two years". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
  16. ^ "England World Cup squad: Henry Slade & Alex Dombrandt miss out, Joe Marchant & Theo Dan in". BBC Sport. 7 August 2023. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
  17. ^ Henson, Mike (23 September 2023). "England 71-0 Chile". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
  18. ^ Henson, Mike (5 October 2023). "Jack Willis: England flanker to miss rest of Rugby World Cup with neck injury". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
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