Willis deserves to be part of this Lions party

It is one of the biggest travesties in this sport that Jack Willis could be destined to never pull on a Lions jersey.

- NICK CAIN

Yet, Willis has just produced a back row masterclass to help Toulouse to a third consecutive Bouclier de Brennus title after an epic Top 14 final against 2025 European Cup champions Bordeaux, that deserves the highest plaudits.

Willis is a player who, everything else being equal, should have been on the plane to Australia last week alongside his Toulouse teammate Blair Kinghorn. However, when dice are rolled in pro rugby’s boot rooms, among them Owen Farrell being parachuted into the squad this week at the behest of his father, Andy, they never seem to fall the way of Willis.

At the age of 28 the former Wasps flanker is in his prime, and he left his credentials as a Lions Test forward imprinted on every passage of Toulouse’s 39-33 extra-time victory in front of an enthralled capacity 78,000 crowd at the Stade de France last Saturday.

Having watched Willis get the edge over Josh van der Flier in another colossal final when Toulouse beat Leinster to become the 2024 European champions just over a year ago at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, his heroics were no surprise. Even so, you still had to marvel at the way he inspired the Toulouse backrow to eclipse a Bordeaux trio including inform Australian No.8 Pete Samu, big unit Pierre Bochaton, and Marko Gazzotti, France’s answer to Henry Pollock.

Willis was exceptional in every respect, producing a personal tour de force in scoring two of the three Toulouse tries, and finishing near the top of most other statistical counts, including tackles, carries, and breakdown jackals that border on being a superpower.

In case there is any suggestion that the Top 14 final was not like-for-like — as in club rugby compared to international - there were 30 Test players across both clubs, most of them from the France team crowned 2025 Six Nations champions.