Always a Wasp

I got quite emotional watching Jack yesterday and thinking what we have missed with seeing his development as part of what would have been a tremendous Wasps team......just look at how so many are playing so well now. Good on him and I will always support any team with one of boys in it.......though I do draw a line at Sarries I am afraid!!
Now to support Bath and Alfie next weekend!!

England?s loss is Toulouse?s gain with Jack Willis playing the rugby of his life

Flanker and his Toulouse team-mates wrecked Leinster?s breakdown en route to winning a sixth European Champions Cup
Ben Coles, Rugby Reporter 26 May 2024 ? 6:23pm


Back on home soil, Jack Willis gave everyone a reminder of what England are missing as he and his Toulouse team-mates wrecked Leinster?s breakdown en route to winning a sixth Champions Cup. The reason for Willis?s unavailability is of course well known ? one of England?s great back-row talents is now 27 and currently playing the rugby of his life in France, not in the Gallagher Premiership, which makes him unavailable for national selection.

England?s loss is very much Toulouse?s gain, and after the pain of major knee operations, the demise of his beloved Wasps and having to put his England career on hold after committing to stay in France, on Saturday at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium there was only one emotion for Willis; pure elation.

?I don?t really know how to put it into words if I am being honest with you. The last couple of years, there have been lots of lows with Wasps and not playing as much as I would have wanted in certain games... so to be welcomed in here, I can?t tell you how grateful I am,? Willis said afterwards.

?Walking around on the stage, I was trying to get my head around it. Then when I went up to my family I lost it a little bit if I am honest. A few tears to say the least. I would not be anywhere without the support of all my family, my fianc?e is at the top of that list and my beautiful boy makes me smile every day and switch off from the rugby. That?s really important. If you concentrate too much [on rugby] you lost the plot.?


Toulouse had to produce one of the greatest defensive displays in the competition?s history to deny Leinster in the final for a third straight year, winning 19 turnovers and making 240 tackles with a 91 per cent success rate, astonishing figures even accounting for the period of extra-time. Leinster, by contrast, made 137 tackles.

Naturally, Willis was at the heart of Toulouse?s defensive excellence as they continually thwarted each Leinster entry into their 22, until Josh van der Flier?s try in the 94th minute. ?You don?t win trophies without defence and we know that,? Willis said, with Toulouse continually shutting down Leinster?s attacking structure through controlled disruption. They would leave bodies out of rucks and wait, wait some more, then pounce at the right opportunity.

There are few better at the breakdown than Willis but even he was outshone in that area by Antoine Dupont, who seemed to wake up and decide the final was the day to double down on his status as the best player in the game. Willis won two turnovers, Dupont four, including one after a length-of-the-field sprint following Dan Sheehan?s interception.

Dupont revealed afterwards that his time spent in Sevens ahead of the Olympics had led to more personal focus on the breakdown and jackaling. Based on the final, it is fair to say that time has been well invested. It was also hard to remember a better tactical kicking display from the scrum-half either, landing one particularly impressive 50:22 on a patch of grass the size of a side table. Willis, understandably, did not hold back when praising his team-mates.

?He can do everything,? he said. ?Hell of a player. The way he kicked and moved us into their part of the field was really important. If you give them access you know you are going to be in trouble. As far as I have seen, he?s probably the best rugby player of all time. He has helped me win two trophies.?

Toulouse are not done yet. They are in first place in the Top 14, gunning to retain their title from last year and to win the ?doubl?? this season, as Willis put it. Based on photos of the initial dressing room celebrations, the party will have been lively.

?I promise you I have dreamt of winning this trophy since I was a little boy,? Willis added.

After the past few years, no one deserves it more.

?It?s not a level playing field?: South African warning despite Challenge Cup victory

Sharks were dominant against Gloucester in final but head coach John Plumtree would like to see the competition tweaked
Charlie Morgan, Senior Rugby Writer 25 May 2024 ? 10:12am

Sharks head coach John Plumtree delivered an ominous warning for European rivals of South African sides in the Challenge and Champions Cups, insisting that the competitions were not yet a level playing field despite his side making history.

A dominant performance from a pack spearheaded by Springboks laid the foundation for a 36-22 victory over Gloucester, with the scoreline flattering the Premiership side due to two late consolation tries.

It was the first triumph for a South African franchise in their second season of competing in both competitions run by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR), and qualified the Durban outfit for the Champions Cup in 2024-25.

Plumtree said that EPCR tournaments would be ?the best in the world? should administrative tweaks allow for less time on the road. The Sharks played a ?home? semi-final against Clermont at the Twickenham Stoop earlier this month.

?This is not an easy competition for South African teams at all,? Plumtree explained. ?There is a lot of travelling.

?For me, it?s not high performance right now. We?re competing well, but there are a few things that need to be ironed out in terms of levelling it up a little bit.

?This is our fourth trip up here this year and we?ve been away from home for close to three months. That?s not a level playing field, so they need to look at how they can make this competition better. I think it?s going to be the best competition in the world.

?For me, now, it?s better than Super Rugby, and I?ve been involved in that for a long time, but there are logistical things that need to be sorted out and hopefully that is in the next year or two.?

Eben Etzebeth, superb at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, suggested that Sharks? achievement ranked third in his career behind South Africa?s back-to-back World Cup wins in 2019 and 2023, describing it as ?by far my best experience at club level?.

The 32-year-old lock agreed with George Skivington, the Gloucester head coach, that the game represented a best performance of the season for the Sharks, who are languishing towards the bottom of the United Rugby Championship (URC) table thanks to 13 losses from 17 fixtures.


Plumtree, previously an assistant coach with both Ireland and his native New Zealand, will welcome some fine signings to the Sharks next season, including Trevor Nyakane, the Racing 92 prop who was at Tottenham to support his future colleagues, as well as former Harlequins centre Andr? Esterhuizen and Leinster lock Jason Jenkins. For a gruelling schedule, Plumtree argued, such depth and quality will be vital.

?At the start of the season when I came over, the team was disconnected,? he added. ?The culture was poor, we had a poor environment. It took a while to sort it out. But now the team is connected, the players love each other.

?My job is to keep building. We?ve got some quality players coming in and a couple of juniors coming through. Our squad will be stronger and it will need to be because we need two strong squads to compete in the Champions Cup and the URC, because these guys can?t play 28 or 30 games a year.

?We?re not there yet, but we?re getting there and I?m lucky that I had an owner in Marco Massotti who?s determined to make the Sharks really good again but there?s still a lot of work to be done.?

Gloucester face up to an important summer after falling short of a cup double. Defeat was more galling because of how the Challenge Cup had been prioritised over league commitments, a strategy that brought about a 90-0 loss to Northampton a fortnight ago. Without sugarcoating the frustrating aspects of a tumultuous campaign, Skivington praised the persistence of Gloucester?s players and staff.

?I?m proud of the group and actually proud of everyone in the building that, once we made a plan, that we stuck to it,? he said.

?We?ve fallen short of getting a second trophy, which is gutting, but I think we?ve shown that when we knuckle down and commit to something, we?re really good. It will be a season of proper lows and proper highs. But we haven?t got too many gripes about how we?ve lost today.?

Very nice shot of Rafa and Worzel next to each other in the stands enjoying the game. Brings back memories.

A b***** good English cricketer  Bowler.  Several  ouch operations.  I was so pleased to see him back after several years I had to write it somewhere.  Thank you, and sorry!