Jack Willis hinted he could be open to switching allegiances to play for Ireland, as the flanker remains ineligible for England selection.
The 29-year-old Toulouse back row has enjoyed another standout season in the Top 14, being crowned the league’s Player of the Season for the second year running this week.
The Rugby Football Union (RFU) currently restricts overseas-based players from representing England, meaning Willis has been unable to add to his 14 international caps since the 2023 Rugby World Cup. He won his last cap during England’s group-stage victory over Chile and remains under contract with Toulouse until 2029.
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He was given a special dispensation to play for England at the tournament, having joined Toulouse in November 2022, after his former club, Wasps, entered administration.
The RFU has come under pressure to loosen the restrictions, and Willis had previously hoped the governing body would reconsider the policy.
The flanker is eligible to play for Ireland through his grandfather, who was born in Belfast, and could, hypothetically, switch allegiances to play for Andy Farrell’s side.
Willis remains determined to play international rugby
It would be a huge coup for Ireland. But, like England, Farrell’s side also has restrictions on overseas-based players, meaning prospective internationals must represent one of the country’s four provinces: Munster, Ulster, Leinster or Connacht.
Willis has not given up on the prospect of playing Test rugby, and jokingly challenged reporters at this week’s Nuit du Rugby in Paris to find a way around the rules.
“I’m a quarter Irish. But they have the same rules as England,” Willis told The Telegraph and The Times.
The Toulouse flanker claimed his second successive Top 14 Player of the Season award earlier this week
He joked to reporters: “You need to do some digging, that’s your job, you find the way [around the rules].”
World Rugby relaxed its international eligibility rules in 2021, allowing players to switch national sides under certain conditions, including having a parent or grandparent born in the respective country and serving a three-year stand-down period from international rugby.
Willis has continued to impress for Toulouse since moving to the south of France and once again proved pivotal as the French club secured a fourth consecutive Top 14 title last season, scoring six tries and making 173 tackles.
Although he admitted he “missed” playing for England, Willis said it was his choice to continue his career in France.
“You know what you sacrifice,” the flanker said.
“It’s something I still want to do, but rules are rules.”