{"id":249451,"date":"2025-07-09T01:15:18","date_gmt":"2025-07-09T01:15:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/249451\/"},"modified":"2025-07-09T01:15:18","modified_gmt":"2025-07-09T01:15:18","slug":"england-star-opens-up-on-french-reset-which-put-him-in-test-picture-planet-rugby","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/249451\/","title":{"rendered":"England star opens up on French ‘reset’ which put him in Test picture : Planet Rugby"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tom Willis learned the meaning of adversity in rugby long before he was backed up on the England try line under siege from Argentina.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Made redundant when Wasps folded, the number eight had to leave the country and his family behind to go and find work.<\/p>\n

Today he is to be found 7,000 miles from home, preparing for Saturday\u2019s second Test and the expected backlash from a Pumas side needing victory to save the series.<\/p>\n

\u2018Jack and I talk all the time\u2019<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cJack and I talk all the time,\u201d he says. \u201cWe 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know we\u2019ve got to make sure our energy and attitude doesn\u2019t drop [on Saturday]. The attitude we showed to defend our own line for most of that first half last week was unbelievable.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt 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\u2019s a case of not dropping off at all.\u201d<\/p>\n

Three times in the first half Argentina got over the England<\/a> line only to be held up. The tourists could easily have been 15 points down at half-time. Instead, they led 3-0.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were massive moments, massive swings of emotion for either side,\u201d Willis agrees.<\/p>\n

Collapse of Wasps<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

When it all went pop in October 2022 grown men cried and the shock waves from the loss of one of the sport\u2019s great club names were felt the rugby world over.<\/p>\n

International Team of the Week: In-form Springboks forward \u2018on another level\u2019 as Beauden Barrett loses out in \u2018tight call\u2019 for fly-half slot<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Henry Slade OUT! Four options Steve Borthwick could turn to as \u2018classy\u2019 back primed for Test debut but major headache created<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

It was at that point the seeds were sown that would turn Willis and his brother into the world-class players they are today.<\/p>\n

\u201cWasps\u2019 demise really hurt those boys,\u201d said Blackett. \u201cOne 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe number one thing with Tom<\/a> is he\u2019s loyal, by which I mean the ultimate team man. He cares about people. He\u2019s one of the very best human beings you\u2019ll find. The type of team mate that will give you everything.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was brokenhearted when Wasps went, and I look at him now and see someone who has grown so much. He\u2019s still incredibly caring, but ruthless on a rugby field.\u201d<\/p>\n

French adventure<\/p>\n

Without employment options in the UK, the Willis boys headed to France, Jack to Toulouse, Tom to Bordeaux.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a reset for me personally,\u201d says Tom. \u201cAfter Wasps I would have found staying in England tough, jumping into another changing room straight away without my brother and my best mates.<\/p>\n

\u201cGoing to Bordeaux gave me the chance to grow up a little bit as well. I\u2019d never lived on my own before. I went out for two, three months before my girlfriend joined me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dean Richards rubbishes nepotism claims as Owen Farrell would\u2019ve beaten Smiths to B&I Lions squad<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to be a different game, every game is,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s just about adapting, whilst making sure the energy and attitude doesn\u2019t drop.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s unbelievable to work with Lee again, a class coach and an absolute legend. He\u2019s been massively supportive my whole career.\u201d<\/p>\n

Willis is understood to be on the reserve list should the British & Irish Lions need back-row replacements, but that will be<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s probably not helpful to think about that,\u201d he says. \u201cIf something like that unfolded, obviously that would be unreal, but that\u2019s not something I will think about at all going into this game.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

READ MORE:\u00a0\u2018You never know\u2019 \u2013 England star remains hopeful British and Irish Lions will call after \u2018hell of a journey\u2019<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tom Willis learned the meaning of adversity in rugby long before he was backed up on the England…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":249452,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4102],"tags":[393,225,90462,12,6875,4151,12070,79,16,15,28226],"class_list":{"0":"post-249451","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-rugby","8":"tag-england","9":"tag-home-page","10":"tag-internationals","11":"tag-news","12":"tag-premiership","13":"tag-rugby","14":"tag-saracens","15":"tag-sports","16":"tag-uk","17":"tag-united-kingdom","18":"tag-wasps"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114820633301928706","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249451","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=249451"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249451\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/249452"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=249451"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=249451"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=249451"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}