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

Tomas Francis in action for Wales.