Willis brothers prove that resilience is key in harsh world of rugby union

Sometimes people forget the most priceless quality in a rugby player. It can also be easily overlooked, particularly on sunny days in benign conditions when tries flow like warm honey. Even away from home in deepest midwinter, with sub-zero temperatures freezing your snot, it is only fully visible to those aware of just how deep certain individuals have already had to dig to be there.

So yes, size clearly matters to some extent. Vision, too, in a game that grows ever quicker. Athleticism, power and pace, obviously. Tactical nous, regardless of position. Above all else, though, is something that goes beyond mere routine commitment. Call it resilience, character, stubbornness, competitiveness or virtual insanity, it is particularly evident in adversity. Some people have it by the bucket-load, others less so.

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It is often the reason why certain players are more revered by their teammates and coaches than by the wider public. They don’t just talk a good game, they consistently go out and deliver, regardless of the obstacles. Eddie Jones, for one, specifically used to favour players who regained their feet fastest and instantly rejoined the defensive line. Everyone will get knocked down at some point in life; not everyone can bounce straight back up again.

We are not talking here, to be clear, about foolishly playing on when badly injured or dazed, once the default behaviour of supposedly macho warriors. It is more about saluting the type of player who endures morale-sapping injuries, desperate career disappointment or off-field anguish and re-emerges the stronger for it. There continue to be some deeply impressive case studies, none of whom would be where they are now without serious inner steel.

Take the Willis brothers, Jack and Tom, now starring for Toulouse and Saracens respectively. Not so long ago both siblings were unemployed after the abrupt financial collapse of Wasps. Jack also suffered a horrible knee injury playing for England against Italy in February 2021 but has rebounded to become one of the finest back-rowers in Europe. Tom also had to pack his bags and briefly relocate to Bordeaux but is now back in north London and edging ever closer to Six Nations recognition.

It remains to be seen whether the latter will be thrust straight in at No 8 for England against Ireland in Dublin, where he may find the opposition tackling more robust than some of Bristol’s weekend efforts. But if the 25-year-old is named in Steve Borthwick’s squad he will be striking a sizeable blow not merely for the wider Willis family but for big-hearted, persevering pros everywhere.

Judging by the most eye-catching of his two tries at the weekend, a thunderous 40-metre effort that left at least three would-be tacklers in his wake, the younger Willis is very much the type of player who reacts positively to a challenge. His older brother is made of similar stuff, having already missed out on his first senior tour with England, to South Africa in 2018, because of an untimely injury prior to his Twickenham misfortune four years ago.

Unless you have rehabbed a long-term injury yourself – or witnessed the struggle as a parent or partner – it can be hard to appreciate fully the mental resolve required. Some of us did not have distinguished playing careers but, on this particular subject, your correspondent can speak with genuine first-hand authority. In the end, it was less about overcoming the actual injuries themselves than the accumulated mental toll.

Half a dozen dislocated shoulders and two major surgeries on the same troublesome joint – the metal pin holding it together still shows up nicely on X-rays – took up so much mental band width that a simple broken wrist was ultimately enough to prompt my premature retirement. I still very much wanted to play – even now I miss the evocative odours of a rugby dressing room – but the prospect of yet more slings, resistance bands and physio appointments was just too depressing.

The good news, in retrospect, is that it fostered a genuine admiration for those made of sterner stuff. Anyone who wins a century of Test caps or plays top level rugby into their late 30s is, by definition, a sporting superhero. Take Ben Youngs and Dan Cole, for example, still doing their unselfish bit for Leicester at the weekend. Or, for that matter, their current team-mate Mike Brown, 39 years young and raging against the dying of a light that utterly refuses to go out.

Jamie George is another enduring example. Three hundred appearances as a one-club man for Saracens, on top of everything else the England captain has achieved in the game, is a colossal achievement. Ditto for Alex Goode and Danny Care, although they still sit behind Richard Wigglesworth who made 449 collective appearances for Sale, Saracens and Leicester.

Not everyone, of course, is blessed with such longevity. The biggest of bodies can break down, one concussion too many can instantly curtail a career. Real respect, then, to the likes of Rhodri Williams, who earned his first Wales cap for 10 years last November, and, back in the day, to New Zealand’s Ned Hughes, who had to wait 13 years between caps either side of the first world war. Playing every week is sometimes the easy bit; it can be even tougher when you are not being picked.

Hence why this first Breakdown column of 2025 is dedicated to those who endure extraordinary highs and lows and still keep on trucking. Tom Curry in England, Cian Healy in Ireland, James Slipper in Australia, the redoubtable Puma hooker Agustín Creevy who hopes to play on past his 40th birthday at Benetton, Jimmy Gopperth who is already doing so for Provence. Chapeau to tireless Premiership leaders such as Lewis Ludlow, Callum Chick and Jack Yeandle who do not always receive as much recognition for their selfless toil. And well done again, finally, to the Willis family for reminding us that nothing is impossible if you want it badly enough.

American dream

Well done to Ilona Maher on managing to make it on to the pitch in Bristol on Sunday. Wading through a vast sea of hype is not easy, even if you are already an Olympian and have competed in Dancing with the Stars. Nor was it her fault that her 19 minutes on the field did not exactly produce a star-spangled highlights package to captivate the folks tuning in Stateside. Bristol Bears, you say? Against an increasingly dominant Gloucester-Hartpury? On a chilly Sunday in January? Pl-ease. Even the most imaginative of Hollywood scriptwriters would have pleaded for slightly more dramatic colour.

But at least Maher is here in the UK, which, for the moment, is the main thing. She is aiming to spread the rugby gospel in places where it has not registered previously and helped to double her new club’s home attendance straight off the bat. With the World Cup kicking off in England later this year, women’s rugby has a shining social media star around whom it can build its profile and audience. It would help, though, if Ilona’s teammates could pass her the ball a little more often and give her a chance to show what all the fuss is about.

One to watch

The Champions Cup pool stages resume this weekend and, for one or two teams, there is already scant margin for error. The English Premiership leaders, Bath, have lost both their games to date and cannot afford to slip up at home to Clermont Auvergne, who proved stubborn opposition for Leinster last time out. Bristol and Exeter, similarly, have lost their opening two pool games and will struggle to qualify for the last 16 unless they can deliver at home to Bordeaux and Benetton respectively.

Even Northampton and Saracens, who both enjoyed splendid domestic wins last weekend, will have to stay focused away at Stade Français and Munster respectively if the Premiership’s finest are to be right in the mix for an all-important home tie in the knockout stages.

Memory lane

Back to December 2010 and a start-up game in the snow on Clapham Common in London. Tricky to see the lines, mind you.

Still want more?

Bristol Bears’ new high-profile recruit Ilona Maher says while she loves being a superstar, rugby needs much more than solely her presence for the sport to continue to grow. Sarah Rendell reports.

Gerard Meagher was at Franklin’s Gardens as Fin Smith made a bid for a starring Six Nations role as Northampton sank Bath.

And Premiership rugby is now for the masses not the purists – enjoy it while it lasts, writes Michael Aylwin.