Jack Willis (rugby union)

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.

Jack Willis
Full nameJack Steven Willis
Date of birth (1996-12-24) 24 December 1996
Place of birthReading, England
Height1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Weight116 kg (256 lb; 18 st 4 lb)
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 17 (20)
Correct as of 28 August 2023
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2016 England U20 7 (0)
2020– England 13 (15)
Correct as of 28 August 2023

Club career

Willis played junior rugby for Reading Abbey R.F.C. before joining the Wasps Senior Academy in 2015.[1] In November 2016 he made his first senior start for Wasps in an Anglo-Welsh Cup game against Sale Sharks.[1] Later that month he made his Premiership debut against the same opponent.[1]

After an exceptional 2019/2020 season in the Gallagher Premiership Willis became 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.[2]

Wasps entered administration on 17 October 2022 and Willis was made redundant along with all other players and coaching staff.[3]

On 24 November, he joined France's most-successful club Toulouse in the Top 14 competition with immediate effect.[4]

International career

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.[5] In 2018 he was named in the England senior squad for their tour to South Africa.[6] A knee injury sustained in the Premiership semi-final defeat against Saracens ruled him out of the tour.[7]

A week after finishing as a runner up in the 2019/20 premiership final, Willis was included in Eddie Jones' England side for the final Six Nations match against Italy[8]

Willis made his debut on 14 November 2020 against Georgia at Twickenham in the Autumn Nations Cup, and opened the scoring with a debut try in the 15th minute as England won 40-0.[9]

Career statistics

List of international tries
As of 7 August 2023[10]
TryOpposing teamLocationVenueCompetitionDateResultScore
1 GeorgiaLondon, EnglandTwickenham StadiumAutumn Nations Cup14 November 2020Win40 – 0
2 ItalyLondon, EnglandTwickenham Stadium2021 Six Nations13 February 2021Win41– 18
3  Italy London, England Twickenham Stadium 2023 Six Nations 12 February 2023 Win 31–14

References
  1. "Jack Willis". Wasps RFC. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  2. "Premiership Rugby Awards 2020 - click here for all the winners". Premiership Rugby. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  3. Bridge, Bobby (17 October 2022). "Wasps' administration confirmed as 167 employees made redundant". CoventryLive. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  4. @StadeToulousain (24 November 2022). "Jack Willis est désormais Stadiste" [Jack Willis is a Stadiste] (Tweet) (in French) – via Twitter.
  5. "Dominant England blow Ireland away in U20 World Cup final". The Irish Independent. 25 June 2016. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  6. "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.
  7. "Jack Willis: Wasps flanker sidelined for up to 12 months with knee injury". BBC Sport. 22 May 2018. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  8. "Willis & Umaga called into England squad". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  9. "England 40-0 Georgia". BBC Sport. 14 November 2020. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
  10. "Jack WILLIS: profile and stats". All.Rugby.
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