Different challenge awaits Francis
By Mark Stevens & Matthew Southcombe
16/9/19
As Tomas Francis gears up to feature in his second Rugby World Cup, the Exeter Chiefs tight-head is acutely aware his role within the Welsh squad is a world away from what it was four years ago.
Thrust onto the international stage for the first time during a series of warm-up games, Francis was the raw rookie amongst Warren Gatland’s squad named for the 2015 tournament.
The young prop, however, impressed many and by the conclusion of Wales’ involvement, Francis had featured in every World Cup game.
Since then, the former Doncaster Knights and London Scottish forward has propelled himself to Gatland’s first-choice in the No.3 jersey. And with 43 Test caps to his name, Francis is no longer the rookie, but more so one of the experienced heads amongst an exciting Welsh squad looking to go all the way in Japan over the coming weeks.
“This is massively different to four years ago,” he said. “I think in 2015 we only played at Twickenham and the Principality. I think in my first 11 caps I only played in three stadiums – the Aviva, Millennium (Principality) and Twickenham.
“It’s very different here and you get to buy into the culture.”
But it’s not just the culture that Wales and the other visiting countries will need to contend with over the course of the tournament, the stifling heat in Japan will be another key factor that players - Francis included - will have to adapt to.
“We’ll have to get the hydration in! I probably lose three or four kilograms most games if I’m honest,” said Francis.
“I sweat a lot so I don’t think this will be that much different to normal. I sweat in the Millennium (Principality), I sweat anywhere. I might sweat more out here, but there is only so much you can do that and we’ve got a training week here to adapt and I’m sure we’ll get used to it.
“It’s just water and fluid you lose, you can’t lose fat that quickly. I wish you could! If you can you’ll have to let me know!
“It’s just fluid and to not lose too much you have to get your rehydration right which is important. You have to get the balance right and to help the team you can’t go into a game dehydrated.”
Pre-tournament training camps in Switzerland and Turkey will have helped the Welsh to acclimatise, but it won’t be until the matches start that teams will be able to gauge just how testing the conditions will prove.
Equally, getting to grips with different opponents and the interpretation of rules by officials is something Francis and the Welsh will also have to manage, particularly as they fell foul a number of times at scrum time during the recent warm-up games.
It was better for the final clash in Dublin against Ireland, but they head into this tournament amid concerns a wobbly set-piece could undermine their quest for World Cup glory.
However, Francis, who was originally brought into the setup before the last World Cup predominantly for his scrummaging prowess, explained that a recent rule change was the source of the issue.
In July, World Rugby announced law changes that concerned the way two front rows engage with each other at a scrum, stamping out what is known as ‘axial loading’.
This occurred when players put the tops of their heads on the shoulders of the opposition during the ‘set’ call at scrum time. It usually meant a lot of pressure was being aimed at the hookers but that’s stopped now.
“With the new scrum laws maybe we were trying to read too much into it,” explained Francis. “In the Six Nations we were very happy with the scrum and we’ve probably been focusing on it more now that there have been a few changes and it hasn’t quite gone how we’d have liked.
“We’ve tried to paint a picture of what we are about in the last few games and scrummed legally. We probably scaled right back to the letter of the law but now we’ve learned what the referees actually want. It’s not that they’re not refereeing it well, but we’ve just learned how it works. It always takes time when a law change works and we’re ready for that now.”
And they will need to be ready as they face a Georgia side on Monday who have, historically speaking, always prided themselves on having a feisty scrum.
“Georgia love their set-piece and that will be a good challenge but we want to take them on and not shy away from that,” he insisted. “You know what’s coming. Georgia will want to scrum and maul and if you shy away from that you’re giving them a head start so we have to take them on and be confident.”