Toulouse flanker Jack Willis hopes the Rugby Football Union will re-evaluate their selection policy for foreign-based England players.
The star is currently based in France and recently signed a three-year deal after initially joining on a short-term contract when his former club Wasps entered administration.
England head coach Steve Borthwick has special dispensation to select Willis this year due to the Wasps situation, but the Toulouse star’s Test career after the World Cup is up in the air.
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Consider a change
Willis feels that the salary cap in England is restricting, and he believes that Toulouse is the right team for him to progress as a player.
“It’s something that I think should be discussed and has to be discussed, really,” he said.
“It’s not up to me how these decisions go. If it was, I think I know which way I’d be heading for.
“Hopefully, they think it through, and hopefully things can change to a degree and open up a little bit more on the leniency.
“To play for England, you’ve got to play your best rugby, and I felt like this was the right place for me to develop as a rugby player and be the best player I can be.
“I know those two things sort of contradict at the moment, but I am hoping it ends up changing so they can align slightly better.”
Willis is not the only Englishman who has or will be playing France with Joe Marchant, Sam Simmonds, David Ribbans and Jack Nowell moving to mainland Europe. There have also been rumours of Marcus Smith going in the future due to the salary restrictions.
Toulouse support ambition
The flank is impressed with Toulouse’s focus on their players’ Test careers and their ambitions.
“I really hope the rules do change because I know that the guys here will support that as much as they can,” he said.
“The one thing about Toulouse is they want their players playing international rugby, whether that’s for France, for Italy, Argentina, Australia, England. They know how ambitious we are as players, and they want to help us fulfil that dream.
“I was sort of blown away by their support and their willingness to put my best foot forward and, whatever I wanted and needed for the England stuff, they wanted to support, no matter what the situation it left them in here. The give and take has been fantastic.
“Day in, day out being here I realised the quality that I’m around. I’d have felt silly turning that down, so that’s what fundamentally my decision came down to.
“I feel very, very fortunate that I’ve ended up at such a special club.”