Tomas Francis (born 27 April 1992) is a Wales international

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

player who plays at tight head

prop A prop, formally known as a (theatrical) property, is an object actors use on stage or screen during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinct ...

for

Provence Rugby Provence Rugby () is a French rugby union club currently playing in Pro D2, the second tier of France's league system. They were promoted back to the second level for the 2018–19 season after two seasons in Fédérale 1. Based in Aix-en-Provenc ...

Club career

Francis signed his first professional contract with

Doncaster Knights Doncaster Knights Rugby Football Club ''(formerly, Doncaster RFC)'' are a professional rugby union club representing the city of Doncaster, England. The club play in the 2nd division of English rugby, the RFU Championship. Being the most prom ...

in February 2012 at the age of 19, he was playing for amateur club Malton and Norton RUFC when he signed for the Knights, where he had been playing from the age of 4. Francis signed with London Scottish in 2013 after Doncaster were relegated to

National League 1 National One, up until 2023 known as National League 1 and previously known before September 2009 as National Division Two), is the third of three national leagues in the domestic rugby union competition of England. It was known as Courage Lea ...

, he made 23 appearances in one season for Scottish before being signed by

Aviva Premiership Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition, consisting of 10 clubs, and is the top division of the English rugby u ...

side

Exeter Chiefs Exeter Chiefs (officially Exeter Rugby Club) is an England, English professional rugby union club based in Exeter, Devon. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1871 and since 2006 has played i ...

for the 2014–15 season. He was a replacement as Exeter Chiefs defeated

Wasps A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder. Th ...

to be crowned champions of the 2016-17 English Premiership. On 12 January 2021, Francis confirmed his move to Welsh region

Ospreys The osprey (; ''Pandion haliaetus''), historically known as sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor, reaching more than in length and a wingspan of . It is ...

in the

Pro14 The United Rugby Championship (URC) is an annual rugby union competition involving professional teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales. For sponsorship reasons the league is known as the Vodacom United Rugby Championship in ...

on a three-year deal from the 2021-22 season.

International career

On 20 January 2015,

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

head coach

Warren Gatland Warren David Gatland (born 17 September 1963) is a New Zealand former rugby union player and the former head coach of the Wales national rugby union team, Wales national team. As a player, he was a Hooker (rugby union), hooker and was one of ...

said during a press conference that he had a long debate about whether to include Francis in the 34-man squad for the

2015 Six Nations Championship The 2015 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2015 RBS 6 Nations because of the tournament's sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 16th series of the Six Nations Championship, the annual rugby union tournament. It was contested by E ...

but had decided against it due to current back injuries Francis was carrying. On 9 March 2015, Francis was called up to train with

. On 16 March 2015, Francis was added to the Wales squad prior to the final Six Nations game against

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. On 2 June 2015, Francis was selected in Wales 47-man

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

training squad. On 29 August 2015, Francis made his Wales debut in a 16–10 World Cup warm-up victory over

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. He was called up as cover for the

2017 British & Irish Lions tour to New Zealand The British & Irish Lions toured New Zealand during June and July 2017. The Lions, a rugby union team selected from players eligible to represent England national rugby union team, England, Ireland national rugby union team, Ireland, Scotland na ...

International tries

Personal life

He was educated at both

Ampleforth College Ampleforth College is a co-educational Private schools in the United Kingdom, fee-charging boarding and day school in the English Public school (United Kingdom), public school tradition. It opened in 1803 as a boys' school. It is near the villa ...

and

Sedbergh School Sedbergh School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Private schools in the United Kingdom, private boarding school, boarding and day school, day school) in the town of Sedbergh in Cumbria, North West England. It comprise ...

. Francis has a degree in Mechanical Engineering which he earned at the University of Leeds. He signed his first professional contract at

while completing his studies. Francis qualifies for Wales through his grandmother, Eirlys Walters, who was born in

Abercraf Abercraf (also ; or Abercrave) is a village in Powys, Wales, in the community of Ystradgynlais and within the historic boundaries of the county of Brecknockshire. A distinct dialect of English is spoken in the village, as well as the Welsh lang ...

References

External links

*
Exeter Chiefs ProfileLondon Scottish Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Francis, Tomas 1992 births Living people Alumni of the University of Leeds English people of Welsh descent English rugby union players Exeter Chiefs players London Scottish F.C. players People educated at Ampleforth College Rugby union players from York Rugby union props Wales international rugby union players Welsh rugby union players Doncaster Knights players Ospreys (rugby union) players 21st-century Welsh sportsmen Provence Rugby players 2015 Rugby World Cup players 2019 Rugby World Cup players 2023 Rugby World Cup players Welsh expatriate rugby union players in France People educated at Sedbergh School