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Jack Willis, England’s rejuvenated hitman, faces the threat of exile from Test after the World Cup as the RFU put a time limit on his special dispensation for playing abroad.
The 26-year-old flanker marked his first start for his country in two years with a staggering 21 tackles in 53 minutes on the pitch against Italy at Twickenham on Sunday, as well as scoring a try and earning a trademark turnover.
It was a glorious and emotional occasion for Willis, but his hopes of becoming a long-term fixture in the Red Rose’s back row are in jeopardy.
When Wasps abruptly collapsed under a mountain of debt in the autumn, his homegrown open side was left unemployed, along with his teammates and staff at the Coventry-based club.
In a matter of weeks, Toulouse had taken over Willis, but sports mail he understands that the RFU turned down a request to be considered available for England beyond this season.
Jack Willis made a stunning return to England’s starting line-up in Sunday’s win over Italy
For several years, the governing body has exercised a policy that prevents non-Premiership players from being selected for the national team.
A controversial ‘exceptional circumstances’ clause exists and was deemed to apply in Willis’s case, but the RFU would not allow it to be invoked for the duration of any contract after this summer.
The upshot of his ruling is that despite returning to England service with a bang, the master poacher and defensive force of nature is unsure of his Test prospects after the World Cup in France in the autumn.
At this stage, he has not received any significant offers from Premiership clubs as they struggle to cope with the budget cuts needed to accommodate a reduced salary cap.
Toulouse want to keep Willis, and Bordeaux, where his brother Tom currently plays before joining Saracens at the end of the season, are also interested in signing him up.
While other England players such as Exeter’s Sam Simmonds and Luke Cowan-Dickie and Harlequins center Joe Marchant will move across the Channel at the end of this year, Jack Willis is different. since he had no intention of leaving Wasps until they went bankrupt.
Having uprooted his family at short notice, he now seeks clarity about what will happen next. If the only offers from English clubs are well below his market value, he has a tough decision to make.
It’s a tough scenario for a player who endured a year with a broken knee, but put his body back on the line late in the breakup battle, where he does his best work.
Willis was acquired by French club Toulouse after Wasps went into administration.
Steve Borthwick paid tribute to Willis’ resilience after naming him in the squad to face Italy. And the England head coach was asked if there was any chance of the RFU’s foreign policy being overturned.
He said: ‘I know there are talks about a new deal which is due to start from the 2024-25 season.
“I’ll leave the discussions about that to the people who run it.”
When Wasps and Worcester collapsed last autumn, RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney suggested that his organization would be open to seeking a central contract system, but it soon became apparent that there was no real interest in such drastic reform.
In an interview with Sportsmail two months ago, Willis said: “Some of the offers the Wasps guys were getting to stay in England were terrible.
“Maybe the clubs were taking advantage of the situation but, equally, they were looking at their books and couldn’t do better.
“It’s an exceptional circumstance and I hope there’s a review so the Wasps or Worcester lads can play for England wherever they end up.”
“I definitely think there should be more flexibility.”
Steve Borthwick paid tribute to Willis’s resilience by naming him in the squad to face Italy