An England star has been tipped for Lions duty despite not playing in the Six Nations (Image: Getty)
wants exiled star Jack Willis to be included in the squad for the British and Irish Lions tour of Australia. Plenty of players have been tipped for a call-up following their excellent finish to the .
However, Willis was unable to play a part in the tournament due to the location of his club. In 2011, the RFU banned England from picking eligible players whose clubs are based overseas in a bid to protect the quality of the English leagues. Willis has played for French club Toulouse for the past two years and was therefore unable to feature in Borthwick’s squad for the Six Nations, in which the Red Roses finished as runners-up to France.
Woodward believes the rule preventing England from picking overseas players is “ridiculous” and insists Willis and club team-mate Blair Kinghorn – who played for Scotland in the Six Nations – should be part of Andy Farrell’s squad.
“There is one Englishman Farrell must pick in that area of the field and it’s one who didn’t play a minute in the Six Nations. Jack Willis is ineligible for international rugby because of his club employment with Toulouse. As I’ve consistently maintained, that is ridiculous,” the World Cup-winning former England boss wrote for the Daily Mail.
“Willis’ form for the last two years in France has been extraordinary. He is undoubtedly a Test Lion in waiting. If Toulouse reach the latter stages of the TOP14 and Champions Cup – as expected – then Willis will miss the start of the tour. The same applies to Scotland full-back Blair Kinghorn who is also with Toulouse.
“But as an international coach, your remit is to pick your best available players. Both Willis and Kinghorn are in my Test team. To me, it doesn’t matter if they are absent for the first few weeks. Their undoubted quality means they have to be in the side, fitness permitting.
Jack Willis cannot play for England as his club team are based in France (Image: Getty)
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“I’d play Willis at blindside flanker with Caelan Doris at No 8 and either Morgan or Tom Curry on the openside.”
England boss Borthwick believes Farrell has a “great headache” ahead of selecting his squad. Ollie Lawrence was one of the England stars expected to head on the tour of Australia but he has been ruled out with an Achilles injury he suffered during the win over Italy.
Borthwick: “I have done the exercise about 10 times where I have sat there and written out which players I think will go. I end up with a different number each time, because it depends on who’s playing well.
“Ollie Lawrence was one of those, so I was really disappointed for him that he’s not going to have that opportunity on this Lions tour. I just want as many as possible, and hopefully, there aren’t any more injuries to any players. The good thing here is that Andy has got some great headaches on it.”