Saracens number eight Tom Willis has been crowned Gallagher Prem player of the season for 2025-26 ahead of his move to Bordeaux.
Willis came out top in a vote by players across the league after a seismic campaign at StoneX Stadium that saw him lead the stats for most carries, defenders beaten and off-loads.
The 27-year-old’s ability to break tackles, combined with his physicality in defence, helped take Saracens to the brink of the play-offs, only to be denied by Exeter on the final day of the regular season last Saturday.
Tom Willis has signed for Bordeaux, meaning he will no longer be available for England selection
Saracens’ Tom Willis is tackled by Leicester Tigers’ Izaia Perese and Jack van Poortvliet
In a blow to England, the 6ft 4in, 19-stone back row told Steve Borthwick in October that he had signed for a second spell at Bordeaux, making him unavailable for international selection from next season.
Borthwick chose to overlook him for the autumn and Six Nations in favour of investing in players who would be available for the 2027 World Cup, even though Willis had already been given an enhanced England EPS contract worth in the region of £160,000.
It means one of the nation’s most destructive forwards has been able to add to his eight caps in 2025-26 yet he now returns to the Top 14 with the acclaim of his fellow professionals.
In a double for Saracens, 19-year-old wing sensation Noah Caluori was named breakthrough player of season and also finished as top try scorer with 18 touch downs.
Northampton’s Phil Dowson took the director of rugby prize for guiding Saints to a first-place finish at the end of the regular season, despite operating on the third lowest salary cap spend in the competition.
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