He’s the England international in the form of his life who is playing for the world’s best club in Toulouse — rugby’s equivalent of the Galacticos of Real Madrid.
But the morning after another ding-dong battle in France’s Top 14 and with just a few hours’ sleep in the bank, Jack Willis is up early to fulfil his other role as a father to two young children.
The creche run has already been completed by the time Willis welcomes Mail Sport to his stunning French home.
‘We played Vannes away at 9pm in the first league game of the season and got back home at four in the morning,’ Willis says, finishing off a huge plate of eggs on toast to refuel after the exertions of the night before.
‘Then I was up at 7am for my son Enzo’s first day at school — that was a challenge! It’s full on here with rugby and family life. They are long days, but I’m getting used to it.’
Jack Willis is the England international in the form of his life who is playing for the world’s best club in Toulouse
After the sad demise of Wasps in 2022, Willis was left unemployed. But out of that wreckage came the move of a lifetime
Willis and his fiancee Megan have family visiting, but are welcoming hosts.
‘I didn’t play much rugby at the World Cup, but I did make a lot of coffees,’ says Willis, serving up flat whites. ‘I bought this machine to cheer me up after the tournament.
‘I’m pretty good with it now, but it wasn’t cheap!’
As the morning French sun reflects off the shimmering surface of Willis’s backyard swimming pool, it is immediately obvious how happy he is with life on the continent.
And why wouldn’t he be? After the sad demise of Wasps in 2022, Willis was left unemployed. But out of that wreckage came the move of a lifetime. A beaming smile rarely leaves Willis’s face during our conversation.
The 27-year-old flanker was quickly snapped up by Toulouse — a team of all-stars that contains France icon Antoine Dupont and internationals from across Europe.
Willis has won back-to-back French league titles as well as the Champions Cup and while his French club employment means he is currently ineligible for Test rugby, he is more than content.
Last season’s double ended with Willis and Dupont crowd surfing across a packed Place du Capitole in the centre of Toulouse with the Bouclier de Brennus — the giant shield awarded to the French league winners.
The 27-year-old flanker was quickly snapped up by Toulouse and he made the move to France
The French club is a team of all-stars that contains national icon Antoine Dupont
Willis, 27, was granted an exception to play for England at last year’s World Cup while still with Toulouse
‘I lost the plot a little bit with the crowd surfing,’ Willis says, breaking into another grin.
‘I was just so happy! After we won the Champions Cup, we drank from the Saturday through to the Tuesday before training on the Wednesday. We went to a meeting and the president told us there would be a bus to take us into town.
‘The president told us the bus would go back to the club at 10pm, but that he didn’t want any of us on it!
‘That was the sign for the party to start back up again! The club had organised a bar in the middle of the street. There were a couple of thousand people there with us. It showed me how much the club means to this city.
‘That’s a big thing that drives me here. You’re not only playing for just the club, you’re playing for the whole city. If I go into town, people say “merci” to me for the trophies we’ve won.
‘When I lived in Leamington Spa, no one had a clue I played rugby! Here, it’s a religion. We obviously didn’t arrive in the happiest of circumstances.
‘But it’s just crazy here with the support. I’ve seen a whole new side to rugby.’
Toulouse’s 19,000 capacity Stade Ernest-Wallon is sold out for every home game. The club’s fanatical supporters ditch their cars on roundabouts near the ground hours in advance of kick-off and wait patiently for the team’s arrival.Â
In April last year, he signed a new two-year deal. It means that under the RFU’s foreign ruling, he can no longer represent Steve Borthwick’s national side
Willis has won back-to-back French league titles as well as the Champions Cup
Last season’s double ended with Willis and Dupont (pictured) crowd surfing across a packed Place du Capitole in the centre of Toulouse
They gorge on baguettes filled with sausage or steak. The atmosphere is electric. A club employee hypes up the fans, not that it is needed.
Toulouse are one of French rugby’s most historic clubs. They are used to success.
The supporters line the entrance to the stadium 10 deep and hang off the railings to cheer Willis and his team-mates into matches. Toulouse hadn’t lost at home for more than two years, prior to a shock defeat by Bordeaux on Sunday.
Their first home game of the new Top 14 season was a 9.05pm kick-off on a Sunday night, but the ground was still packed with families and young children.
Willis might not currently be available for England, but he is playing rugby of international level each week with Toulouse. He was outstanding in last season’s Champions Cup final win over Leinster. And he has endeared himself to French rugby with his gritty displays.
Toulouse’s France full back Thomas Ramos says: ‘Jack is like a dog! He likes to carry the ball, so much so we are going to buy him a ball for Christmas so he doesn’t keep the one we play with all the time!’
Willis says: ‘Growing up in England, you don’t really picture winning the Top 14. But I’d always dreamed of winning the European Cup, so to do it was just amazing.
‘I think I’ll be hard-pushed to have a better rugby memory. It’s always been important for me to speak French and to respect the language of the country you’re in.
The supporters line the entrance to the stadium 10 deep and hang off the railings to cheer Willis and his team-mates into matches
Willis (left)Â was outstanding in last season’s Champions Cup final win over Leinster
‘I’m sure I sound like a bit of an idiot half the time — it’s a bit of ‘Bonjour Rodney’ — but at least I’m trying!
‘My second child, Arlie, was born here. I had to mature and step up, especially with the language, so that as a family we weren’t put in an uncomfortable medical situation.
‘When the baby arrived, there were some very panicked shouts in French of “Mayday! Mayday!” but everything was OK.’
Willis, 27, was granted an exception to play for England at last year’s World Cup while still with Toulouse. But, in April last year, he signed a new two-year deal. It means that under the RFU’s foreign ruling, he can no longer represent Steve Borthwick’s national side. That may well change in the coming years.
‘Rugby can give you amazing memories, but you also have to make sacrifices,’ Willis says. ‘For me, England is one. There will always be a part of me that will want to go back into the set-up and prove I can add more. Equally, I love where I am now. Giving that up would be a sacrifice. It’s about balancing it up.’
Willis’s displays for Toulouse mean he is unlikely to be short of future offers either. He is in the prime of his career.
Bristol is one Premiership club to have previously shown interest. A move to Saracens may well appeal given Willis’s brother Tom is there.
Toulouse hadn’t lost at home for more than two years, prior to a shock defeat by Bordeaux on Sunday
Toulouse’s France full back Thomas Ramos says: ‘Jack is like a dog! He likes to carry the ball, so much so we are going to buy him a ball for Christmas’
The two siblings played together at Wasps and were also brief adversaries in French rugby when Toulouse met Bordeaux, for whom Tom had a short stint.
‘When I talk about my best memories from rugby, top of the list is playing with my brother,’ Willis says.
‘We spent years running into each other in the back garden dreaming of playing together in the Premiership final. I’m incredibly grateful we did that with Wasps, but there is a huge part of me that would want to do that again.’
