Could Jack Willis switch allegiance from England to Ireland?

After being anointed Top 14 player of the year for the second season running, Toulouse flanker Jack Willis appeared to open the door to the idea of a possible switch of allegiance from England rugby to Ireland rugby.

The 29-year-old has thrived since arriving in France following the demise of Wasps in 2022, captaining the powerhouse French champions regularly as they secured a fourth successive title last season.

Having initially been given dispensation to represent England following his move to Toulouse, Willis has been ineligible since winning the last of his 14 caps at the 2023 Rugby World Cup with the Rugby Football Union (RFU) firm on its stance of not picking players based overseas. The back rower’s deal in the Top 14 runs until 2029.

He is, though, in theory eligible for Ireland on account of a Belfast-born grandfather and, with it being more than three years since his last England outing, could switch nations under World Rugby regulations.

Of course, there are a couple of key stumbling blocks in the way – most notably the fact that Ireland also do not tend to pick players based outside of their four United Rugby Championship provinces.

While flexibility on that front has been shown in the past for players including Johnny Sexton, it is highly unlikely the rules would be bent for Willis, who would have to sign for an Irish side to become eligible.

The player himself admits an international return of any kind is, at this stage, all but out of the question.

“I’m a quarter Irish, but I believe they’ve got the same rules as England,” Willis told outlets including The Telegraph and Times at the Nuit du Rugby in Paris. “You can do some digging, that’s your job. You find the route.

“But England is always something on my mind. I miss it. But, when you make a decision, you have to make sure you’ve made the right one, you have to take responsibility for it, you know what you’re sacrificing. It wasn’t my choice at the beginning, but it has been my choice to stay here. It’s something I always have in mind and I always want to do, but the rules are rules.

“I’ve made my decision, I can’t change anything, except if something out of my control changes. I’m doing my best for my club and that’s Toulouse.”

Willis’s younger brother Tom is also now based in the Top 14 having left Saracens at the end of the last season to return to Bordeaux Begles.