Young Gun: Tom Willis – Wasps No.8

As a young player, Tom Willis is like a sponge when it comes to soaking up all the advice on offer, and with a world champion for an older brother, he doesn’t need to look too far for it.
The Wasps No.8 is the younger sibling of openside Jack, who lifted the JWC with England U20s this summer, and Tom, 17, is following in his footsteps having represented England U18s during their tour of South Africa.
Making the step up from school rugby to senior rugby is not an easy one, so Tom is making the best of his brother’s experience.
“I’m trying to improve all areas of my game but I really enjoy carrying the ball and the physical confrontation rugby brings,” he told The Rugby Paper.
“It’s perfect for me to have Jack able to help me out. He’s only two years older so he knows exactly what I’m going through and we talk a lot.
“He’s done well this year winning the JWC with England and he’s always keen to dish out advice when we see each other.
“I managed to make one A-League appearance against Exeter last season and Jack was the captain that day. He made it very easy for me and it helped massively to settle my nerves.
“My dad is the other big influence in my rugby career so far. I started at Reading Abbey where he played rugby all his life and that’s where I fell in love with it. Him and Jack have been great so far.”
Touring South Africa was a surprise for Willis as he was only in Lower Sixth and a year young, but he hopes the experience will help him finish his school career in style.
He was called up by coaching guru John Fletcher after Saracens‘ Ben Earl pulled out and Willis went on to feature in all three games.
He added: “I wasn’t expecting to be involved and it was tough going in South Africa, but it was an enjoyable experience nonetheless.
“We ended up losing all three games and losing to South Africa in the last game by one point was pretty gutting.
“It didn’t look great from the outside but our performances weren’t that bad and we’ve got a good platform to work for next season.
“Personally I’ll try to use that experience to lead from the front and get involved as much as I can in the Five Nations before hopefully touring South Africa again next summer.
“The AASE League started this week with Henley College and I hope to get involved in the Premiership Academy league with Wasps too – and the A-League could be a good target.
“That game last season was great to give me an idea of where I should be physically to play senior rugby. It’d be good to experience that again.”