'Dreams come true' for Francis

By Mark Stevens

Exeter Chiefs prop Tomas Francis admits it was a "dream come true" after he was named in the Welsh squad for the upcoming Rugby World Cup.

The 23-year-old tight-head, who only made his international debut at the weekend as Wales overcame Ireland 16-10 in Dublin, was on Sunday named in Warren Gatland's 31-man squad for the tournament.

It capped a metoric rise in stature for the York-born, who only joined the Devon club at the start of last season having previously been on the books of Doncaster Knights and London Scottish.

Francis, though, enjoyed a stellar first season at Sandy Park, featuring in a total of 26 league and cup games. His on-field form not only got him into the Premiership team of the year, but Wales also called the young forward up to be part of their training squad for the Six Nations.

Although Francis did not feature in the Six Nations, he did enough in camp to impress Gatland and the Welsh coaching team who included him in their initial World Cup training camps in both Switzerland and Doha.

Now, the Chiefs star is set to figure in Group A of this year's tournament, facing Australia, Fiji, Uruguay and hosts England in the opening stages.

It is little wonder therefore that Francis is somewhat taken aback by the way things have progressed in the past 12 months.

"It's all a bit surreal, if I'm honest," admitted Francis, who qualifies for Wales through his grandmother. "To get my first cap at the weekend was unbelievable, but then to get the nod to be in the World Cup squad is just amazing.

"Two years ago I couldn't get a game at London Scottish, so to be here now is a dream come true."

Featuring in a virtual first choice Welsh XV, Francis impressed in the Aviva Stadium and is now looking a likely starter in Gatland's plans for this autumn's World Cup.

"I'm happy to get it out of the way, the first game was always going to be the most nervous and the most daunting," Francis continued.
"I'm quite a nervous character before a game, any game, but once I got into it I enjoyed it.

"I was happy with my first scrum but there was one before half-time that got away from us, cost us a try, but on the whole we held it. I'm glad to get that under my belt but obviously a long way from where I want to play - I missed a few tackles and that scrum annoyed me a bit. But a good start."