Tom Willis learned the meaning of adversity in rugby long before he was backed up on the England try line under siege from Argentina.
Made redundant when Wasps folded, the number eight had to leave the country and his family behind to go and find work.
Today he is to be found 7,000 miles from home, preparing for Saturday’s second Test and the expected backlash from a Pumas side needing victory to save the series.
‘Jack and I talk all the time’
He will speak to Toulouse and England star brother Jack, as he does every day, then begin the mental process of building towards the physical battle coming his way on the weekend.
“Jack and I talk all the time,” he says. “We talk rugby, we talk all sorts. What the approach [to the game] is going to be, how to keep the ref onside, the decision-making around that.
“We know we’ve got to make sure our energy and attitude doesn’t drop [on Saturday]. The attitude we showed to defend our own line for most of that first half last week was unbelievable.
“It felt like we were in our 22 for the whole game, just making tackles, parked on our line. The scrap we showed was unbelievable. I thought it was class. It’s a case of not dropping off at all.”
Three times in the first half Argentina got over the England line only to be held up. The tourists could easily have been 15 points down at half-time. Instead, they led 3-0.
“They were massive moments, massive swings of emotion for either side,” Willis agrees.
Collapse of Wasps
Rewind three years and he was playing alongside his brother for Wasps. Runners-up in the 2020 Premiership final, the Coventry-based outfit had built a decent team underpinned by that spirit which made the club such a special place to belong.
When it all went pop in October 2022 grown men cried and the shock waves from the loss of one of the sport’s great club names were felt the rugby world over.
It was at that point the seeds were sown that would turn Willis and his brother into the world-class players they are today.
“Wasps’ demise really hurt those boys,” said Blackett. “One minute Tom was playing week in week out with his brother and a group with whom there was a really tight bond. The next they were all going their separate ways.
“The number one thing with Tom is he’s loyal, by which I mean the ultimate team man. He cares about people. He’s one of the very best human beings you’ll find. The type of team mate that will give you everything.
“He was brokenhearted when Wasps went, and I look at him now and see someone who has grown so much. He’s still incredibly caring, but ruthless on a rugby field.”
French adventure
Without employment options in the UK, the Willis boys headed to France, Jack to Toulouse, Tom to Bordeaux.
“It was a reset for me personally,” says Tom. “After Wasps I would have found staying in England tough, jumping into another changing room straight away without my brother and my best mates.
“Going to Bordeaux gave me the chance to grow up a little bit as well. I’d never lived on my own before. I went out for two, three months before my girlfriend joined me.”
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Willis grew as a person and returned to the Premiership with Saracens stronger for the experience. That toughness stood him in good stead last weekend and he will need it again on Saturday.
“It’s going to be a different game, every game is,” he says. “It’s just about adapting, whilst making sure the energy and attitude doesn’t drop.
“It’s unbelievable to work with Lee again, a class coach and an absolute legend. He’s been massively supportive my whole career.”
Willis is understood to be on the reserve list should the British & Irish Lions need back-row replacements, but that will be
“It’s probably not helpful to think about that,” he says. “If something like that unfolded, obviously that would be unreal, but that’s not something I will think about at all going into this game.”
The message is clearly understood. England are going to have to be at their best to close out this series. In Willis, they hope they have just the man for the job.