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‘It’s on you to impress’: How Bordeaux stay made England's Tom Willis
As images go, it is a vivid one. Tom Willis, all 191cm and 110kg of him, squashed behind the steering wheel of a bright red Suzuki Swift as he attempts to beat the traffic on the long drive between Bordeaux and Toulouse.
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It is now two years since Willis, in the wake of Wasps’ painful demise, embarked on a sojourn in the Top 14 with Bordeaux Bègles.
Later that November his older brother Jack joined him in south-west France, albeit 244km away, and as the younger sibling adapted to life in a new country, he could regularly be found on the A62, the road that links the two cities.
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“I’d say the first two months I spent a lot of time driving down to Toulouse to visit him and his partner and my nephew,” Willis, now back in the Premiership with Saracens and preparing to represent England A on Sunday, tells RugbyPass.
According to the No.8, the journey would take two and a half hours each way “on a good run”, but the trips to Toulouse became less frequent as he acclimatised to his new surroundings and another ex-Wasp, Gabriel Oghre, joined him in Bordeaux at the beginning of 2023.
“Gabe joining in January made a massive difference to me and my missus as well in terms of just having that familiar face, someone you were already close with.
“It helps you then build further bonds within the squad, especially with the Australian guys, South African guys, we had a group of foreign boys in the end.
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“And yeah, Gabe was unbelievable for us out there as well.”
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Willis could have been forgiven for looking for exit routes in those early months. Having endured the heartbreak of watching his boyhood club go to wall, he walked into another volatile environment in Bordeaux.
His new club were 12th in the Top 14 when Willis arrived, a fact that cost coach Christophe Urios his job the day before the Englishman signed.
Willis was plunged into crisis meetings – which he couldn’t understand as there was no translator – but as he picked up “rugby French” the team rallied, and their form improved dramatically.
Having climbed to sixth by the end of the regular season, Bordeaux won an away quarter-final at Lyon before running into eventual runners-up La Rochelle (beaten coincidentally by Jack’s Toulouse in the showpiece match) in the last four.
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“It was an unbelievable experience,” Willis adds. “I’m so glad that opportunity came up. Obviously, everyone was gutted about what happened at Wasps but the fact that opportunity came up was a bit of a silver lining. I absolutely loved it.
“It was an unbelievable club, unbelievable city, and I made some unbelievable friends out there as well.
“The level of rugby, the fans out there, just the atmosphere was absolutely unbelievable. And yeah, it’s an experience now I’m so glad I’ve had.
“Obviously, I’m happy to be back in England. It’s nice to be close to family and back in the Premiership but that was a was an awesome experience.”
Willis admits those initial weeks were something of a culture shock but says he is a “better player and a better person for having experienced that”.
“In terms of taking me out of my comfort zone, it was massive,” he adds. “You come through an academy somewhere and you do get looked after a bit.
“You get driven on, but you do get looked after, get an arm around you whereas going somewhere completely different where you didn’t know anyone, gives you a chance to really experience something different.
“Like I said, [you’re] out of your comfort zone and it’s on you to impress, otherwise you’re not going to get played. They don’t owe you anything.
“I’d like to think I went out there and did that. And it was a cool experience and I do feel like I’m a better player for having experienced those unbelievably physical games and the crowds – especially how crazy the away crowds can be.”
Willis and Oghre, who has since moved to Bristol, will have been able to relive those months in France this week as they joined up with England A to prepare for this Sunday’s match against their Australian counterparts.
It has been something of a Wasps reunion in south-west London with two of the coaches, Lee Blackett and Andy Titterrell, as well as several players having shared history in Coventry.
“I got pretty excited coming in, looking at the squad because there were a load of boys I used to play with. A load of the old Wasps boys,” he says. “It’s been nice to catch up with those boys.”
Willis will also line-up with fellow Saracens forward Hugh Tizard, who he describes as a “big old lump, a nice physical player to have alongside you” while his former U20s captain Fraser Dingwall will lead the team from centre.
But his excitement extends to players he is less familiar with too, particularly Northampton Saints duo Henry Pollock and Tom Pearson, who will pack down either side of him in the back row.
“[I’ve been] massively impressed,” he says of Pollock. “Obviously, he’s a very confident lad. Henry really has presence around the squad and works massively hard, drives boys on, great energy.
“Tom Pearson’s obviously not a young lad but I’m excited to play with those boys in the back row.
“I’ve spent a fair bit of time with Tom Pearson as well and he’s a class player. Great hands, very physical so yeah, we’ve got some really talented players in the squad.”
Willis’ exploits in Bordeaux helped propel him to senior recognition but despite training with Steve Borthwick’s side as recently as October, he is yet to add to the cap he earned in a World Cup warm-up against Wales last August.
“They’re very good at communicating and staying in touch,” he says of the senior coaching staff. “They’ll let you know little fix ups, little bits they want you to get after.
“That’s been great, and I know I’ve just got to keep working hard and see where that leaves me.”
But this week his focus has all been on Australia A. Willis and his team-mates are expecting a physical encounter at the Stoop but the main message from Mark Mapletoft and his staff has been on enjoying the occasion.
“They’ve told us to play what we see and play with confidence,” Willis says. “Back our decisions, just be really clear with each other on what we want and work hard for each other.
“That’s what you want, especially coming together in a short space of time. Having simple messages like that will give us the structure to go after, but [also] the freedom to make decisions within that structure. It’s a good spot to be in.”
It is a philosophy Willis approves of wholeheartedly. “Even though we’re a group that’s just come together, there are a lot of relationships that are already there in place,” he adds.
“We’ve spoken about just backing each other, fighting for each other in all areas. I think if we give everything there, play with freedom, back each other in decisions we make, then we can’t really have any regrets come the end of the game – hopefully after a win.”
See England’s brightest young talent when England A take on Australia A on Sunday, 17 November at Harlequins’ Twickenham Stoop – KO 14:00 GMT. Tickets are available from only £25 for adults & £15 for U16 (+booking fees) here.
View the match live and free on RugbyPass TV (exc. UK & Australia).
