Ben Earl claims Pieter-Steph du Toit the ‘standard-bearer’ but not the world’s best as England star’s choice will leave Steve Borthwick despondent
Springboks great Pieter-Steph du Toit and England star Ben Earl.
England star Ben Earl has hailed the talents of back-row “standard-bearer” Pieter-Steph du Toit but believes that club team-mate Tom Willis is currently the best in the world.
The number eight was appearing on the Hits Different with Danny Care podcast where he was asked his thoughts on the sport’s best player.
Earl decided to split it up into forwards and backs with Willis his selection up front. There was an element of bias but it shows just what England are missing having seen the 27-year-old take up a deal abroad.
Between Jordie and Sacha
“I will say in the forwards, right now, I think Tom Willis is one of the best players in the world,” Earl told ex-Test team-mate Care.
“In the backs, I haven’t played him, but Sacha [Feinberg-Mngomezulu] looks a good player. Against the best teams, he’s performed. Him or Jordie Barrett.
“Everyone talks about Jordie Barrett and I don’t think I’ve ever seen him have a bad game. You saw where the All Blacks were in the autumn missing him, you could see how important he is for his team.”
Willis is not in the England reckoning after committing to Bordeaux-Begles ahead of the 2026/27 season, which is a blow for Steve Borthwick.
The number eight was starting to find his feet at Test level and was utterly exceptional in their 2-0 series victory over Argentina in July last year.
After the deal with Top 14 outfit UBB was confirmed, Willis missed the November series and Six Nations, but he has continued to impress for Saracens.
Earl is currently the England number eight but, asked to put his best back-row together, he had no hesitation in naming Willis at the base of the scrum.
“Tom at eight. Honestly, playing with him is a joke,” he said. “It’s not maybe for everyone the way he does it and how he goes about how he plays.
“He’s not going to be one that plays in like crazy structure, it’s literally you kick him the ball at kick-off and all of a sudden there’s a ruck 55 metres up the pitch but also on the other side. There’s no other player that would happen to.
“Honourable mention to Jasper Wiese, who’s an absolute nightmare. You see him on the teamsheet in the back-row and it’s a bit like, ‘it’s going to be brutal’.”
Flanker selection
Earl then delved into the flankers where he went with a fellow countryman over Ardie Savea before extolling the virtues of Springboks star Du Toit after naming him at blindside.
“At seven, there’s a couple but I still think Sam Underhill. When I play with Unders there are noises on the pitch that come out of the opposition’s mouth when they get hit where you go, ‘oh geez’,” he said.
“Ardie Savea would be right up there but just because I’m English I will say Sam.
“At six, it’s Pieter-Steph du Toit. He’s freakish in everything he does. There’s no weakness in his game. He just seems to be everywhere as well.
“When I played against him in the autumn 2024, it was a charge down to then making a tackle over there to then making a carry over there – he’s the standard-bearer of match involvements for a back-row.”
