“If you had told me two months ago that I would be here in France, doing an interview in the Toulouse kit, then I would have thought you were really crazy,” Jack Willis laughs as he takes square. do exactly that.
Three weeks ago he was living in a quiet Warwickshire village just down the road from the Wasps’ vacant training ground. Life has moved on rapidly since his beloved club went bankrupt. He is still looking for his bearings around the Stade Ernest-Wallon, his new home, but he finds a quiet corner to reflect on his journey which has changed his life.
“I was at the England camp and I was told on Tuesday morning that I was not going to play in the South Africa test,” he explained. “I text Ugo Mola, the coach here, saying, ‘I’m not in the team… do you want me to come and play? He replied and I flew out that night, landed at midnight, had my medical on Wednesday, got my visa on Thursday and played that weekend.
England’s Jack Willis was left without a club after his beloved Wasps went bankrupt
In a surprise for Willis, he found his feet in France and now plays his rugby in Toulouse
“Contract-wise, everything was planned for the following week, so we just moved forward.” I desperately wanted to start playing again. I didn’t get a lot of minutes during the fall and hadn’t played in a few weeks because of everything that was going on at Wasps. We just said, “Okay, let’s go, let’s do this”. Me and my partner Megan spent the first few nights in a small AirBnB. It was an absolute whirlwind but I absolutely loved it.
Willis barely had a chance to process the grief of what happened at Wasps. Last week, he left the AirBnB and found a place in the suburbs, away from traffic but close enough to take his 11-month-old son, Enzo, to visit the town’s quaint Christmas markets. His younger brother, Tom, also found himself out of work and ended up living a few hours away in Bordeaux.
“To be honest, I haven’t had a chance to breathe since the Wasps affair,” said Willis, who scored on his first start against Perpignan last week. “In many ways, that’s probably a good thing. My brother came for the day Wednesday, our day off, and it was really weird. His partner has a notice period at work, so he’s on his own, which is difficult. I would have seen Tom every day at home. He would come to see Enzo before or after practice, before practice. He’s a good uncle. Not seeing him for five weeks, then seeing him in his Bordeaux kit while I’m in my Toulouse kit, you say to yourself: “How has it been in the space of eight weeks?” it is mental. Bonkers.
Willis said he ‘hasn’t had a chance to breathe’ since the drama that unfolded at Wasps
“On the other hand, would I ever have been brave enough or lucky enough to change careers and end up in a place like this? I walked off the pitch after the game against Perpignan last week smiling half ears to another. I can’t remember the last time I enjoyed a rugby match so much. To end up in Toulouse, a club in which you dream of playing, I’m very lucky.
Uninvited, Willis gazes off into the fog for a moment of reflection.
“I also feel lucky because a lot of guys still haven’t found a club,” he said with a stern look. ‘They deserve it. The room was stunned when it happened. It was really strange. Come to think of it, the owner or the board did not stand up to tell us. They let the administrator tell us, a guy called Andrew who I had never seen before. He just said: “As of today, I am officially appointed legal administrator and you have all lost your jobs”. We were like, “What?” He talked about the facts, guessing is his job, no blurry lines. It looked like the board members and owners had seen a ghost when we arrived for this meeting, and we all thought that meant we were going to be told we were going into administration. But it all happened all of a sudden. Just like that, 167 people were made redundant.
His younger brother Tom was also out of work and as Jack moved to France in Bordeaux
Willis finds himself at one of the most prestigious clubs in Europe who face Munster on Sunday
There are two very different sides to Willis’ story. The ashes and the phoenix. He finds himself in one of the most prestigious clubs in Europe, facing Munster today, alongside Antoine Dupont and Romain Ntamack. He speaks with admiration of their ability to pass the ball half the width of the pitch and kick the ball softly with both feet. Does he think more players will join him across the Channel?
“The reality is there’s a lot going on in the Premiership and there’s not enough money in the game,” he said. “There are players who should be paid more, but it’s not because of the salary cap. They stay out of loyalty to England or their club. Some of the offers the Wasps guys were getting to stay in England were appalling. Maybe the clubs were taking advantage of the situation, but they were also looking at their books and honestly couldn’t do better. No one has a magic answer for this. If you try to raise the salary cap you will end up with more clubs like Wasps and Worcester, but if you don’t let the game grow it won’t grow. There are many things to understand.
“The thing that is difficult for me to understand is where things stand with the salary cap situation in English rugby. The cap was not designed for the remaining teams to suddenly crowd into 60 or 70 other Wasps and Worcester players. This is an exceptional circumstance and hopefully there will be a review so the Wasps or Worcester guys can play for England wherever they come from. Lots of countries select overseas based players but I don’t know if it’s like that in England I really think there should be more flexibility With the gambling money at home you can see the guys from Exeter who have to leave. It’s gotten to a point now where there’s been so much pressure. Guys who are playing in top competitions, who have new experiences, will only help the national team.
The RFU have temporarily relaxed their stance on the selection of overseas-based players, meaning Willis will be eligible to play at next year’s World Cup in France. He watched the dismissal of Eddie Jones as head coach from afar, before sending a heartfelt text message to the manager who handed him his 2020 England debut.
“It’s been a crazy week,” he says. “It was all in the news, but I only really found out when the RFU announced it. That’s when I heard. Eddie wouldn’t really have had a chance to tell us because he had a lot to do.
“I messaged him after seeing the news and said, ‘Thank you for all your hard work and help over the years, hope to keep in touch, all the best for the future.’
“Eddie gave me my first opportunity with an England shirt and I will always be grateful to him. He definitely pushed me to become a better player. I know a lot of other players will say the same.
Willis says there’s ‘not enough money’ in Premiership and players should have more
When asked if any particular memories stood out, he smiled: “The first week of camp, he definitely put an arm around me, with the wasp situation, took care of me and gave me some tips. Once he knew I fixed something, he gave a funny gag here and there. In a meeting, with me and Charlie Atkinson, he said, “If you guys have spare change, throw it in the hat on the way out!” You have to laugh about it. He has a good sense of humor.
“It was funny seeing the team sheet and seeing ‘unattached’ next to my name. It was another one of those moments when you think, “How is this all going?” you can’t really get out of it. I love the England stuff and I want more. As things stand, I’m able to play for England until the World Cup, which is great. I hope that if I perform well here, I can be involved in these teams.
In the meantime, Willis is ready to impose himself under his new colors. His family will travel to watch the local derby against Castres later this month, instructed to bring an English turkey for Christmas dinner. They can also stick around for New Year’s Eve, toasting 2023 as a year of opportunity.
“I haven’t signed anything yet for next season,” he reveals. “I have some ideas of what I want to do, but I’ll do my best and see where it ends up.” I really liked it so far. For my son, it could be a really cool thing to spend a few years here. Who knows what the future holds for us? You just don’t know where the next step will be.
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