Tom Willis (born 20 April 1979 in

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

) is a former New Zealand international

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

player who played in the hooker position.

Playing career

New Zealand

Willis made his provincial debut for

Otago Otago (, ; ) is a regions of New Zealand, region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island and administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local go ...

in 1999 and his

Super Rugby Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It has previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Super Rugby started as the S ...

debut for the Highlanders the following year, but found playing time difficult to come by on the same sides as incumbent

All Black The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks, is the representative men's national team in the sport of rugby union for the nation of New Zealand, which is considered the country's national sport. Famed for th ...

hooker

Anton Oliver Anton David Oliver (born 9 September 1975) is a retired New Zealand rugby union player. Previously, he played as a hooker for Marlborough (one of the predecessors to today's Tasman side) and Otago in the National Provincial Championship and A ...

and fellow rising star

Andrew Hore Andrew Keith Hore (born 13 September 1978) is a former New Zealand rugby union player. He played for the All Blacks between 2002 and 2013. His position was hooker. He notably played for the Hurricanes in Super Rugby, but also represented the ...

. Injury to Oliver saw Willis finally see a starting role for the Highlanders in the

2002 Super 12 season The 2002 Super 12 season was the seventh season of the Super 12, an annual rugby union competition contested by teams from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. The season ran from February to May 2002, with each team playing all the others o ...

, and he impressed enough that he was starting Tri Nations games for the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks, is the representative men's national team in the sport of rugby union for the nation of New Zealand, which is considered the country's national sport. Famed for th ...

following the campaign. However, with Oliver back healthy Willis again found himself on the reserve bench for the 2003 Super Rugby and NPC seasons. Despite a lack of playing time, he still managed to show his substantial ability in limited minutes - in the 2003 NPC he scored 5 tries despite making only 2 starts in 9 total appearances. Following the 2003 provincial season, Willis transferred to

Waikato The Waikato () is a region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipā District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton City, as well as Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsula, the nort ...

and the Chiefs in a bid to get more consistent playing time. However, shortly thereafter he suffered complications following a back injury, which forced him out of rugby for over a year. After missing the entire

2005 Super 12 season The 2005 Super 12 season was the tenth season of the Super 12, contested by teams from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. The season ran from February to May 2005, with each team playing all the others once. At the end of the regular seaso ...

, Willis returned to hold down the starting position at hooker for the Chiefs for another three seasons through 2008. However, it was as captain of Waikato that he achieved his greatest triumphs, as he led the province to the 2006 Air New Zealand Cup championship as well as a

Ranfurly Shield The Ranfurly Shield, colloquially known as the Log o' Wood, is a trophy in New Zealand's domestic rugby union competition. First played for in 1904, the Shield is based on a challenge system. The holding union must defend the shield in challenge ...

triumph over North Harbour in 2007.

Europe

On 23 April 2008, Willis confirmed he was joining Welsh

Celtic League The Celtic League is a pan-Celtic organization, founded in 1961, that aims to promote modern Celtic identity and culture in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Brittany, Cornwall and the Isle of Man – referred to as the Celtic nations; it places pa ...

side Newport Gwent Dragons for the following European season. After arriving in Wales, he was quickly appointed team captain and made 25 appearances in his first season for the club. Willis retired from rugby in January 2012 due to injury.

International Play

Willis was first selected to the

for their end of year tour in 2001, where he made starts - and was named team captain - against Ireland A and Scotland A. However, neither of these contests were considered test matches. After a strong

, he was again selected to the All Blacks for that year's domestic and Tri Nations tests. He made his test debut on 8 June 2002, starting in a 64–10 win over Italy in

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

.Thomas Eion Willis : New Zealand All Black
He would go on to make another four appearances for New Zealand that year. However, these would be his final international appearances. Injury ruled him out of the 2002 end of year tour, and he was left off the

2003 Rugby World Cup The 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth Rugby World Cup and was won by England national rugby union team, England. Originally planned to be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, all games were shifted to Australia following a contractual dispu ...

squad. His long injury layoff in 2004-2005 would then ultimately serve to permanently end his international career.

References

External links

Newport Gwent Dragons profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Willis, Tom 1979 births Living people New Zealand rugby union players Dragons RFC players Chiefs (Super Rugby) players Highlanders (rugby union) players Otago rugby union players Waikato rugby union players New Zealand international rugby union players Rugby union players from Dunedin Rugby union hookers New Zealand expatriate rugby union players in Wales University of Otago alumni People educated at King's High School, Dunedin