Jack Willis addresses Test future as eligibility for England rival nears

Jack Willis has admitted an England return remains “something I still want to do” after being named Top 14 Player of the Year for the second season in a row.

The Toulouse flanker, who starred in the Top 14 final victory over Montpellier in June, joined club-mate Antoine Dupont as the only player to win the honour twice, having beaten Bordeaux-Begles and France fly-half Matthieu Jalibert and ASM Clermont-Auvergne’s All Black Harry Plummer to this year’s prize.

Willis’ success in France has come at the cost of his England career, with the 29-year-old remaining ineligible for selection under the RFU’s overseas policy after choosing to stay at Toulouse.

That international picture could become even more intriguing in the coming weeks, with Willis set to qualify for Ireland through heritage, although his latest comments made clear that representing England remains firmly in his thoughts.

For now, his immediate focus is on returning to action for Toulouse after a thigh injury has ruled him out of their past two matches of the season.

“It’s always something that’s in the back of my mind,” he said after scooping the award in Paris. “It’s what I miss. But when you make a decision, you have to own it. You know what you have to sacrifice.

“It wasn’t my choice at the beginning, but it was my choice to stay here afterwards. It’s something that’s always in the back of my mind, something I still want to do.

“But the rules are the rules, unless something changes which is out of my control. For now, I’m doing my best to recover and do my best for my club.”

Willis has also indicated that a return to England is not currently part of his thinking, with the flanker open to making France his long-term home. He will become eligible to apply for French citizenship next year after completing five years in the country, and has admitted it is something he has thought about seriously.

That would mean any future Test career with England – or potentially Ireland once he becomes eligible – would likely require a change in either nation’s approach to selecting overseas-based players rather than Willis leaving Toulouse.

Speaking in an interview on the Bros. Stories YouTube channel, Willis said: “We’re coming up to four years in France now. I think obviously everyone knows five years you can look to get your passport, your French passport. It’s something that we’ve thought about a lot, especially since Brexit as well and the way things work with the relationship that I’ve now got with back home, with England, but with France also having such a special part of my heart and being such a big part of our family.

“I think it’s something to us, whether we end up staying here for life or not. For me, getting my French citizenship is something that I feel like, if I was accepted, would not only mark our time here for life but also would feel like a massive honour.

“It’s something that I definitely think a lot about. Still got a year until that would become a possibility. But I think for us as a family, we’re proud of where we’ve come from in England, but we’re proud of our part of our life here in France.”