The chuckle that spread through the Saracens onlookers told the story. It was about 10 minutes in to a gripping, gruelling Investec Champions Cup tie when a scuffle erupted near Toulouse’s 22, with players from both sides rushing in to join the fracas. The tension was soon defused by the sight of one burly back-rower with another in a headlock – while usually a cause for escalation, here it was greeted with mirth given the identity of the two men involved.
Tom Willis released his grip eventually; sibling Jack responded with a brotherly shove. It might have been a scene the pair shared in formative days in their Reading backyard, but it served to encapsulate a significant win for Saracens – Willis the younger outdoing, just about, his bigger brother on a wretched night in north London.
