Francis ready for All Blacks challenge

By Jess Bassett
8/6/2016

Exeter Chiefs prop Tomas Francis is aiming to put the frustrations of last season firmly behind him and help Wales tackle the might of New Zealand in their own backyard this summer.

The 24-year-old tighthead has arrived in Auckland as part of Warren Gatland’s 35-man squad for the upcoming three-test tour against the world champions.

Francis has been retained in the Welsh squad, even though he was banned back in March for eight weeks after he was adjudged to have made contact with the "eye or eye area" of England's Dan Cole during the Six Nations encounter at Twickenham.

The suspension meant Francis was sidelined for much of Exeter’s second half of the season, only returning ahead of their Aviva Premiership play-off semi-final against Wasps.

Although aggrieved with the disciplinary decision, the former Doncaster and London Scottish forward took his punishment and featured in the victory over Wasps and then in Exeter’s narrow 28-20 loss to Saracens in the Premiership final at Twickenham.

Now, Francis is looking to start afresh in New Zealand and help Wales topple the famous All Blacks on his first-ever tour.

“I’ve never been on tour, so I’m massively excited,” said the Chiefs prop. “Last year I was involved in the World Cup and all of the training camps, but it was all on home soil as such. To go away for a whole month and play the world champions, I cannot wait.”

Wales kick-off their tour at Eden Park in Auckland on Saturday, before then moving onto the Westpac Stadium in Wellington (June 18) and finishing off at the Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin on June 25.

Francis hopes to be part of Gatland’s match-day plans for all three games and insists he feels fresh and raring to go after his enforced absence.

“The second half of the season got taken away from me, I missed eight weeks for nothing as I saw it,” said Francis. “It was tough to watch and not be part of such an amazing season, but the boys did a great job without me.

“My frustration was that I didn’t play at Sandy Park from Boxing Day through to the semi-final, so it was a long time to miss out on. I just wished I had a few more games as it was a great season.”

That said, Francis was able to play a part in the final weeks of the season and was part of an Exeter side, who came within a whisker of lifting the Premiership title for the first time against Saracens.

“We all want to get back here again, we’ve had the experience but it wasn’t about that, we wanted to come here and win and we’re disappointed not to,” added Francis following the Twickenham final.

“Fair play to Saracens they were the form team and they showed that, but we were three points adrift with six minutes to go. That’s probably the closest Saracens have had in a play-off game. We brought it back from 20 points down to three points, so a 20-point turnaround is pretty good, but we were just that little bit short at the end.”

Francis did, however, reserve special praise for the hearty Travelling Tribe of Exeter supporters who descended on English Rugby HQ for the end of season showpiece event.

“It was like being at Sandy Park, but on a bigger scale,” joked Francis. “The crowd were fantastic. When I came on in that second half, they really lifted us and got behind every positive they could.
Even the negatives they kept on cheering, the noise was there all day and it’s fantastic.”

And although Francis will have a short rest following his exertions in New Zealand, it won’t be long before the powerful prop will be back to do it all again with the Chiefs ahead of the 2016/17 season.

“Rob said after the final to enjoy the night because pre-season will be tougher than ever,” continued Francis. “Having got to the final, we want more of it in the future and that will drive us on. We want to be that five minutes fitter and get that hard work in at pre-season because that’s what this club is about.”