1
'A lot goes through your head' - England flanker admits fitness battle woes
England flanker Jack Willis says he is “not fixated on timelines” as he continues his recovery from a major knee injury.
ADVERTISEMENT
The 24-year-old Wasps forward is currently running twice a week after seeing his career stalled just over seven months ago.
Willis’ Six Nations debut against Italy at Twickenham saw him score a try, yet it ended shortly afterwards when he suffered serious ligament and meniscus damage that required surgery.
And while he admits to “a few bumps in the road” on the comeback trail, Willis continues making positive strides.
He has even discovered a new team-mate along the way – former Wales and West Brom striker Hal Robson-Kanu – who founded The Turmeric Co. three years ago, with Willis using their turmeric-based shots that provide an anti-inflammatory nutritional supplement.
“It is always a bumpy road being injured and a pretty frustrating one, to say the least, but I’ve had a pretty good few months building the knee strength up,” Willis told the PA news agency.
“There have been a few bumps in the road that always cause a little bit of a delay, but at the end of the day it all gets swallowed up, come the end. As long as the knee is right, that is the priority.
ADVERTISEMENT
“It is not so much getting fixated on timelines – the priority has got to be is the knee ready to go? It is about the longevity and long-term health of the knee.
“These things change all the time. You get a little bump in the road and it sets you back a couple of weeks, or if things are going really well you can bring it forward.
“Mentally, I find it tougher if I fixate too much on dates and things. It just becomes a little bit overbearing.”
Willis, who was the Rugby Players’ Association players’ player and Gallagher Premiership player of the season last year, ruptured his anterior cruciate knee ligament in 2018 that ended South Africa tour hopes with England.
ADVERTISEMENT
He then went on to win three Test caps before injury again cut him down, and Willis has no doubt that he will be back.
“It is pretty much every day – get to training, do upper body weights, a bit of treatment from the physio, some rehab, lower leg-strength work in the gym, running twice a week and maybe a fitness top-up on the bike,” he added.
“It’s your day-to-day life that people don’t see, like not being able to make yourself a cup of tea when you are on crutches and carry it back to the sofa; not being able to walk your dog; not being able to play golf with your mates. It just takes over everything.
“You wake up thinking about your knee, and you go to bed thinking about your knee. There is a lot that goes through your head, unfortunately.
“When you are having down-days, your brain does spiral with all the ifs and buts of when you will be back. You always think the worst, don’t you? And that’s the trouble. But getting control of those thoughts again is important.
“When I am back, as long as I get the knee right, then hopefully I have got another 10 years ahead of me. For me, it is very much a case of when I will be back.
“It is a bit of a rollercoaster, but the end goal is being back out on that rugby pitch with my family cheering me on and playing alongside my brother (Tom) again in a Wasps shirt. Hopefully, it won’t be too long.”
Part of Willis’ rehabilitation is using turmeric, and he said: “It has been fantastic for my recovery, and helps keep any pain within my knee to a minimum.
“It has been a bit of a secret weapon. The shots are one of those little one per-centers around my training, just adding that extra little bit of recovery and looking after the knee’s health in the long run.”
* The Turmeric Co. has supported Jack Willis with his recovery from injury with its naturally produced shots. www.theturmeric.co
Comments on RugbyPass
Wow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
1 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
12 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
1 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
1 Go to commentsHe seems to have the same aura as Marcus Smith - by which I mean he’s consistently judged as if he’s several years younger than he actually is. Mngomezulu has played 24 times for the Stormers. When Pollard was his age he had played 24 times for South Africa! He has more time to develop, but he has also had time to do some developing already, and he hasn’t demonstrated nearly as much talent in that time as one would expect. If he is a generational talent, then it must be a pretty poor generation.
4 Go to commentsThe greatest Springbok coach of all time is entirely on the money. Rassie and Jacques have given the south african public a great few years, but the success of the springbok selection policy will need to be judged in light of what comes next. The poor condition that the provincial system is currently in doesn’t bode well for the next few years of international rugby, and the insane 2026 schedule that the Boks have lined up could also really harm both provincial and international consistency.
16 Go to commentsJake White is a brilliant coach and a master in the press. This is another masterclass in media relations and PR but its also a very narrow view with arguments that dont always hold water. White wants his team to win, he wants the best players in SA and wants his team competitive. You however have to face up to the reality of a poor exchange rate and big clubs with big budgets. SA Rugby cant compete and unless it can find more money SA players will keep leaving regardless of Springbok eligibility and this happened in 2015 - 2017. Also rugby is not cricket. Cricket has 3 formats and T20 cricket is where the money is at. When it comes to club vs country the IPL is king but that wont happen because the international calendar does not clash with the club calendar in rugby. So the argument about rugby going down the same path as cricket is really a non-starter
16 Go to commentsNZ rugby seem not to have learnt anything from professional rugby. Super rugby was dying and SA left before they died with the competition. SA rugby did a u turn on their approach to international players playing overseas and such players are now selected for Bok teams. As much as each country would love to retain their players playing in local competitions, this is the way the world is evolving my friends. Move with it or stay 20 years behind the times. One more thing. NZ rugby hierarchy think they are the big cheese. Take a more humble approach guys. You do not seem to have your players best interests at heart.
3 Go to commentsBeaches? In Cardiff? Where?
1 Go to commentsHe is right , the Crusaders will be a threat. Scott Barrett, ( particularly), Fergus Burke , Codie Taylor, ( from sabbatical) etc due back soon for the Crusaders. There are others like Zach Gallagher too. People can right the Crusaders off, Top 8 , here we come !!
1 Go to commentsWe will always struggle for money to match the other sides but the least the WRU can do is invest properly in Welsh rugby. Too much has been squandered on vanity projects like the hotel and roof walk amongst others which will never see a massive return. Hanging the 4 pro sides out to dry over the last decade is now coming back to bite the WRU financially as well as on the pitch. You reap what you sow.
1 Go to commentsWhat do you get if you cross a doctor with a fish? A plastic sturgeon
14 Go to commentsWhat happened to feleti Kaitu’u? Hasnt played in a while right?
1 Go to commentsGregor I just can’t agree with you. You are trying to find something that just isn’t there. Jordie Barrett has signed until 2028. By the end of that he would have spent probably 11-12 years on Super Rugby and you say he can’t possibly have one season playing somewhere else. It is absurd. What about this scenario, the NZR play hard ball and he decides to leave and play overseas. How would that affect the competition. There seems to be an agenda by certain journalists to push certain agendas and don’t like it when it’s not to their liking. I fully support the NZR on this. Gregor needs to get a life.
3 Go to commentsHope he stays as believe he can do a great job.
1 Go to commentsMake what step up? Manie has a World Cup winner’s medal around his neck and changed the way the Springboks can play. He doesn’t have anything to prove to anyone. The win record of the Boks with him in the team is tremendous. Sacha can be wonderful and I hope he has a very succesful Bok career, but comparing him to Manie in terms of the next Bok flyhalf is very strange. Manie is the incumbent (not the next) and doing pretty incredibly.
4 Go to comments00 😍 U
1 Go to commentsSabbaticals have helped keep NZ’s very best talent in the country on long term deals - this fact has been left out of this article. Much like the articles calling to allow overseas players to be selected, yet can only name one player currently not signed to NZR who would be selected for the ABs. And in the entire history of NZ players leaving to play overseas, literally only 4 or 5 have left in their prime as current ABs. (Piatau, Evans, Hayman, Mo’unga,?) Yes Carter got an injury while playing in France 16 years ago, but he also got a tournament ending injury at the 2011 World Cup while taking mid-week practice kicks at goal. Maybe Jordie gets a season-ending injury while playing in Ireland, maybe he gets one next week against the Brumbies. NZR have many shortcomings, but keeping the very best players in the country and/or available for ABs selection is not one of them. Likewise for workload management - players missing 2 games out of 14 is hardly a big deal in the grand scheme of things. Again let’s use some facts - did it stop the Crusaders winning SR so many times consecutively when during any given week they would be missing 2 of their best players? The whole idea of the sabbatical is to reward your best players who are willing to sign very long term deals with some time to do whatever they want. They are not handed out willy-nilly, and at nowhere near the levels that would somehow devalue Super Rugby. In this particular example JB is locked in with NZR for what will probably (hopefully) be the best years of his career, hard to imagine him not sticking around for a couple more after for a Lions tour and one more world cup. He has the potential to become the most capped AB of all time. A much better outcome than him leaving NZ for a minimum of 3 years at the age of 27, unlikely to ever play for the ABs again, which would be the likely alternative.
3 Go to commentsJake White talks more sense than anything I've read in the last 5 years. Hope someone's listening.
16 Go to comments