Francis sets his sights on England

By Mark Stevens
01/03/2016

Exeter Chiefs prop Tomas Francis is hoping to return to the scene of his greatest rugby triumph to date when Wales face England in their next RBS Six Nations Championship encounter.

The two rivals will lock horns at Twickenham on Saturday, March 12 in a game which is already being billed by many as a potential Championship decider.

With England having collected three wins from three so far under new head coach Eddie Jones, they lead the way with the Welsh hot on their heels having netted their latest success with a 19-10 victory over France.

Tight-head prop Francis collected his 10th international cap at the Principality Stadium last Friday night, coming on as a second half replacement for Scarlets counterpart Samson Lee.

Now, the 23-year-old forward is aiming to be part of Warren Gatland’s grans plans for the upcoming clash against the English, who they beat 28-25 in last year’s Rugby World Cup.

Francis admits that match remains the highlight of his career so far, but he knows a similar outcome this time around would be equally satisfying, such are the high stakes of this year’s Six Nations Championship.

“For me, that’s the best game I started and probably the biggest win of my career,” said Francis, who signed for the Chiefs in the summer of 2014 from Championship side London Scottish.

“Hopefully, we can match it again next time. When you’re playing for Wales, they are your biggest rivals and you want to beat them every time. Hopefully, I’ll be selected in the squad again and we’ll go from there.”

Francis is back at Sandy Park this week during the fallow Six Nations break and will be part of a Chiefs squad preparing for this weekend’s crunch Aviva Premiership clash with Leicester Tigers at Welford Road on Sunday (3pm).

The young prop will be hoping to figure in that encounter, before returning to the Welsh set-up ahead of the Twickenham showdown.

He will, however, return to a buoyant Welsh camp following their latest victory against the French.

“That was our fifth win in a row against France,” added Francis following the final whistle. “We talked all week about the game, but the crowd were phenomenal and they got us through it.”

In a match that won’t live long in the memory for those who were in attendance, the Chiefs star didn’t worry too much about the overall spectacle, instead reflecting on the final result.

He continued: “We knew it was going to be one of those games where we would have to grind it out. We had a lot of possession in the first half, then the defence dug in during the second half and we got the crucial score.

“Often you know what is coming against the French, they are going to be physical, and they are going to ruck hard, so you need to try and stop them at source. I thought we did that well and in the end we got the result we wanted.”

For Francis being part of an international side is still somewhat of a new experience, but he insists the more exposure he gleans, the better he is becoming as a player.

“When I first came into camp I was a little bit star-struck, but you get used to it after a while,” he said. “Now, they are just my team-mates, but they are all great individuals, all great leaders and it’s an easy team to play in.

“Tonight was my tenth cap, but it’s just flown by. It seems only yesterday I got my first Premiership game, but it’s grown me as a player and every time I go back to the Chiefs from camp, I feel better in myself. Now I feel that I can talk more and give more to the team and between the two hopefully I grow even better, there is a lot more still to come.”

Inwardly, the Welsh are still rueing the opening week loss with Ireland, but Francis says a win against England can help to evaporate that disappointment.

“We we’re a bit gutted about the draw in Ireland as they took two trophies out of the cabinet for us, but all we can do now is stay unbeaten and that’s the target.”