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Toulouse statement: Jack Willis contract extension confirmed

(Photo by Ben Whitley/PA Images via Getty Images)

French giants Toulouse have confirmed a contract extension for Jack Willis, a decision that will place the international future of the England back row in jeopardy. Willis joined the Top 14 club in November a month after Wasps fell into administration.

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Because it was an emergency move made in special circumstances, Willis was allowed to continue to be selected by England during the recent Guinness Six Nations despite its rule of not selecting players based outside the country.

That dispensation for Willis is set to end after the upcoming Rugby World Cup, meaning that he would have to move back to the Gallagher Premiership in order to remain available for England selection.

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However, despite calls from England head coach Steve Borthwick for the RFU to loosen the regulations governing non-Premiership-based players, there has been no indication that a change will happen and the official news that Willis will now stay on in France seems set to place his Test career into hibernation.

A Toulouse statement read: “It’s official – our English back row is staying and is signing up for three new seasons (including two as an option). He is thus part of the club’s 2027 trajectory.”

The development was accompanied by a 40-second video of Willis speaking in French and announcing to Toulouse fans that he has decided to stay on with the club for the foreseeable future. Toulouse, with Willis a starter in their pack, last weekend won their way into a Heineken Champions Cup semi-final versus Leinster with a quarter-final win over the Sharks.

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H
Hellhound 2 hours ago
South Africa will beat England at a canter

You forget that this was the 3rd Test between the AB's and the English this year. They were prepared and they knew how to keep NZ quiet. The Boks is not NZ.


The Boks is a whole other level. You overestimate England and underestimate the Boks. Clearly you haven't really looked at the teams. Besides the Irish games earlier this year, the Boks have mainly used experimental sides, even against the AB's.


Now they have chosen their best team available. They have targeted this game. The Boks mean business. Man for man, this Bok team is better. In strategy and player abilities there is no comparison and they are outmatched.


There isn't just monster strength, but unreal speed. In broken play there is currently no better team as well as defensively, not to even talk about the attacking threat, both from front and the back.


I'd say read between the lines, see what everyone is seeing, but clearly you are wearing blinders and is also putting too much emphasis on an AB's team the Boks beat twice this year, the same AB's that beaten England 3 times this year.


When Rassie gets serious, the players become machines. There is no stopping them. That bench is loaded with players that is fast, strong and have exceptional skills. This is a team not many teams will face before the 2027 WC, because the Boks doesn't use their best between WC's in one game. All experimental.


You will be proven wrong on Saturday and then you will wonder how you could have been so wrong. This Bok team means serious business. They came to conquer and not just by a close score. They want to demolish and they will. This England team at most is a 60 min team. Against the Boks that just won't cut it

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