Welsh ace Francis signs Chiefs contract extension
WELSH prop Tomas Francis has signed a contract extension with Exeter Chiefs, according to reports.
The 28-year-old tighthead is 12 appearances short of reaching the 60-cap threshold set down by the Welsh Rugby Union for players signing new deals to play outside of the country.
The Rugby Paper had reported Francis is one of 30 players to pen new deals to stay at Sandy Park, while at the weekend the Exeter Chiefs website clearly said Francis is among 30 players who have signed “new contract extensions”.
Had it been a fresh deal, under the current WRU rules, the Yorkborn front-rower would have been ineligible to play for Wales.
A completely new contract would have been a bitter blow for Wales head coach Wayne Pivac, who in recent months has seen centre Hadleigh Parkes and utility back Owen Williams rule themselves out of international selection with moves to play in Japan’s lucrative Top League.
Francis’s deal with the Chiefs was not up until the summer of 2021, but with the Gallagher Premiership salary cap adjustments coming into place from the 202122 season, the Devon club have tied down some of their key players on new deals for the future.
Chiefs director of rugby Rob Baxter said: “I’m delighted with what has happened. It seems strange really, because there has been an awful lot of news coming out from other clubs in regards what is happening around pay cuts, players leaving, players staying, yet we have got on with our business pretty quickly.
“In the end, we used that period between the salary cap change being discussed and when any new contract that would be allowed in the new salary cap system to be finalised to sort something like 30 contracts.
“They are all different and not one of them is the same. It’s meant us having individual discussions with players and agents, but in the end I feel like we’ve all got what we need out of it. They are not all four-year deals, nor are they all one-year deals, but we feel we have done the right thing in kind of backing this group of players.”
Back in March, Francis opened up about the agonising club or country decision he faced due to the coronavirus crisis.
He missed Wales’s four Six Nations matches because of surgery on the shoulder he damaged tackling South Africa’s Duane Vermeulen during the World Cup semi-final defeat last October.
With Wales’s three-match summer tour to Japan and New Zealand called off, Francis faced moving to regional rugby in Wales if he was to continue his Test career.
Last April, Francis activated a clause in his Exeter contract which allowed him to remain at the Gallagher Premiership giants until 2021, while still being eligible to carry on his international career with Wales.
The 60-cap rule didn’t apply as it was a clause enacted in a current deal rather than signing a new one.
He said at the time: “It would be a terribly difficult decision, one I do not want to have to make. I want to keep playing for Wales. I also want to keep playing for Exeter.
“I needed 60 caps by the end of next season. I don’t think I can reach the required number in time.”
Rhys Webb was the first highprofile casualty of the 60-cap ruling when he signed for Toulon just after the implementation of the rule in October 2017 and Francis admitted it would be a wrench to leave Sandy Park.
“Exeter gave me my chance in the Premiership and it’s not as if I would be moving abroad for the money,” he continued.
“I’ve never played in Wales. It’s not as if I did and then moved away. My plan has been to win the double with the Chiefs. I am settled here with a great bunch of players, playing a great brand of rugby.”