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Five things you need to know about Wasps star and England debutant Jack Willis

By PA
(Photo by Bob Bradford/CameraSport via Getty Images)

Jack Willis will make his England debut against Georgia when the Autumn Nations Cup begins at Twickenham on Saturday.

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Here, the PA news agency delves into the life of the Wasps flanker.

Humble despite honours
A brilliant season at Wasps earned him recognition as the Gallagher Premiership player of the year and Rugby Players’ Association player of the year, but the 23-year-old is humble about winning the awards. “I’ve had them on my desk, I didn’t want to keep them downstairs because it would look like I’m showing off,” he said.

Make up the breakdown
Although a well-rounded player, it is his breakdown expertise that identifies a rare talent. In the 2019-20 season he plundered 46 turnovers – 27 more than his nearest rival Blair Cowan. A combination of strength over the ball and the flexibility to manoeuvre himself into awkward positions set him apart. The regular stretching sessions that started at an early age have paid huge dividends.

Next career move in the pipeline
During spells rehabilitating serious knee and ankle injuries, Willis came to the understanding that he needed to plan for life beyond rugby and so took up an evening plumbing course with his brother Tom at Warwickshire College Group. He expects to receive a diploma soon, but an NVQ is the ultimate aim.

Tough brotherly love keeps him going
A 13-year-old Willis temporarily fell out of love with the game after being rejected by London Irish, but his chance was to come alongside Tom at Wasps. Tom, also a flanker, is two years younger but the two started last month’s Premiership final defeat by Exeter in the same back row. “Me and him are probably each other’s harshest critics. Competitive brothers we are always pushing each other,” Jack said.

Two years is a long time in rugby
But for two lengthy spells in the treatment room, Willis might have made his debut two years earlier. He was picked for the 2018 tour to South Africa only for a knee issue to force his withdrawal. Misfortune struck for a second time when just a few games into his comeback at Wasps he damaged his ankle. Restored to full fitness in time for this season, he has produced form that former England prop David Flatman believes identifies him as “the best player in the Premiership by a stretch.”

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f
fl 8 hours ago
What is the future of rugby in 2025?

Smith generally isn't well connected to his forward pods; doesn't do a great job of distributing to those around him; and has inferior positional and contestable kicking games than Ford and Fin.


When England have had success over the past few years, its been either through (i) defensive rugby backed up with smart tactical kicking or (ii) high possession attacking phase play based on quick ruck ball. George Ford was key to the implementation of (i) in the RWC, and in the 6N win over Wales, and to the implementation of (ii) in the 6N games against Ireland and France. Smith did great at (ii) when running at tired defenders at the end of the Ireland match, but has never successfully implemented that gameplan from the start of a test because he doesn't distribute or support his forwards enough to create consistent fast ball and build attacks over multiple phases. Instead, his introduction to the starting side has resulted in much more playmaking responsibilities being forced onto whoever plays 9. Alex Mitchell copes ok with that, but I think he looks better with a more involved playmaking 10 outside him, and it really isn't a gameplan that works for JVP or Spencer. As a result of that the outside backs and centres have barely touched the ball when Smith has been at 10.


This might not have been too much of a disaster, as England have seemed to be moving slightly towards the sort of attacking gameplan that France played under Labit and Quins play (I think this was especially their approach when they won the league a few years ago - but its still a part of their play now), which is based on kicking to create broken field rugby. This is (i) a sharp departure from the gameplans that have worked for England in the past few seasons; (ii) bears very little relation to the tactical approaches of the non-Quins players in the England team; and (iii) is an absolute disaster for the blitz defence, which is weak in transition. Unsurprisingly, it has coincided with a sharp decline in England's results.

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