EVERYWHERE HE looks at Stade Ernest-Wallon there are glorious reminders of the mecca of rugby that Jack Willis is now living in. Black-and-white photographs of the boys of the 1920s who won five leagues in quick succession, colour images of the four-in-a-row heroes of the 1990s, snapshots of their immortal captains - Emile Ntamack, father of his team-mate Romain, lifting the club's first European Cup, Fabien Pelous lifting the second and third, Thierry Dusautoir lifting their fourth and Antoine Dupont lifting their fifth.
You can't miss the history and scale of the place and you can't miss the poignancy of Willis being here either. If his club has quite a back story then so, too, has their tough 26-year-old flanker, recently of Wasps until administration hit and redundancy called, but now of Toulouse.
You might say Willis landed on his feet. You might also say he absolutely deserved to. We tend to forget it now but Willis had a horrendous injury in 2018 when rupturing his ACL in a Premiership semi-final against Saracens.
He came back and stormed the league in 2019-20, winning the Players' Player of the Year, the Premiership Player of the Year and the Discovery of the Year awards. He was the turnover titan, the new prince of the breakdown. He was also an England cap until a second horror knee injury befell him playing against Italy in the 2021 Six Nations. That cost him a year. A lot of bleak moments in that year. Only those closest to him fully understand what he went through.
He came again and then Wasps went bust. The club he had played for since he was a teenager dispensed with him, his brother Tom and more than 150 others like they were putting out the rubbish. To him, it feels like another lifetime since it happened but it was only last autumn.
Denne historien er fra July 2023-utgaven av Rugby World.
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Denne historien er fra July 2023-utgaven av Rugby World.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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ALL EYES ON ROSS
OSS VINTCENT sees a lot of similarities between Exeter and Italy, the two teams for whom he struts his powerful, dynamic stuff. The 22-year-old No 8 recognises the crossover in age profile and mentality but is also well aware of the potential shared pitfalls, having been part of a young Chiefs group's struggles to back up an impressive breakout campaign.
BABY BLEU
Léo Barré is the latest in a line of young French stars hoping to bury the blues of last season's World Cup
Tom Voyce
RW pays tribute to the late England wing who was a key part of Wasps' golden era
"Scotland v Ireland is key to the whole shooting match"
Selection for the Lions four will hinge greatly on the Six Nations, says Stephen Jones. So who are the bolters who can force their way in?
Spanish steps
It's a new era for los Leones and their impressive coach Pablo Bouza - and only qualification for the 2027 World Cup will do
OLD PRIORIAN RFC
Giving grass-roots rugby the love that it deserves....
WHERE ARE THEY NOW? MEL DEANE
I WAS at Wasps as a youngster, then signed for Richmond as a pro when I finished university in 1996. I played in Richmond's 106-12 win over Bedford in 1999 - still the biggest-ever Premiership victory.
MY RUGBY WORLD WITH STUART MCINALLY
The ex-Scotland captain turned commercial pilot on Blair Kinghorn, lucky boxers and a famous try
"YOU'RE A LONG TIME RETIRED"
After a ten-year hiatus, Rugby World editor Joe Robinson strapped the boots back on and returned to the rugby field
DOWNTIME WITH... Helena Rowland "I'd love to learn the fiddle and play country music"
The Loughborough and Red Roses star on violin playing, air fryers and historical fiction
