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Jack Willis admitted England returning remains “something I still want to do” after being appointed Top 14 Player of the year for the second consecutive season.
The Toulouse flanker, who appeared in the final victory of Top 14 over Montpellier in June, he joined club-mate Antoine Dupont as the only players to win the honor twice, after beating Bordeaux-Begles and France fly-half Matthieu Jalibert and ASM Clermont-Auvergne’s All Black Harry Plummer for this year’s award.
Willis’ success in France has come at the cost of his England career, with the 29-year-old left ineligible for selection under the RFU’s overseas policy after opting to stay at Toulouse.
That international picture could become even more intriguing in the coming weeks, with Willis set to qualify Ireland through heritage, although his latest comments made it clear that representing England remains firmly in his mind.
For now, his immediate focus is on returning to action for Toulouse after a thigh injury ruled him out of their final two matches of the season.
“It’s always something in the back of my mind,” he said after accepting the award in Paris. “That’s what I miss. But when you make a decision, you have to own it. You know what you have to sacrifice.”
“It wasn’t my choice at the beginning, but it was my choice to stay here afterwards. It’s something that’s always in the back of my mind, something I still want to do.”
“But rules are rules, unless something changes that is out of my control. For now, I’m doing my best to recover and do my best for my club.”
Willis also indicated that a return to England is not currently in his thoughts, with France open to making him his long-term home. He will become eligible to apply for French citizenship next year after serving five years in the country, and admitted it was something he was seriously considering.
That would mean any future Test career in England – or potentially Ireland once he becomes eligible – would likely require a change in either nation’s approach to selecting overseas-based players rather than Willis leaving Toulouse.
Speaking in an interview on the YouTube channel Bros. Stories, Willis said: “We have four years coming up in France. I think obviously everyone knows that for five years you can ask to get your passport, your French passport. It’s something we’ve been thinking about a lot, especially since Brexit and the way things work with the relationship I have now with this big heart, but with such a big part in France, with such a special part in France, part of our family.
“I think it’s something for us, whether we end up staying here for life or not. For me, getting French citizenship is something that I feel, if accepted, would not only mark our time here for life, but feel like a great honor.”
“It’s something I definitely think about a lot. We’ve still got a year until that becomes a possibility. But I think for us as a family, we’re proud of where we came from in England, but we’re proud of our part of our lives here in France.”