Francis focused on wearing No.10 for England
PIERS Francis has vowed to prove himself as a flyhalf of World Cup quality by challenging Owen Farrell and George Ford for England’s coveted No.10 jersey.
Northampton new boy Francis has won three caps at inside-centre, most recently against Samoa as a replacement for Alex Lozowski. However, he insists his long-term future lies at half-back and will step up his game after an injury-hit start at Franklin’s Gardens.
Former Auckland Blues schemer Francis, 27, told
The Rugby Paper: “The club see me as a No.10 and that was always the thinking behind me coming over here.
“With England you know combinations switch, and they’ve played me at 12 because you’ve got players already in the team and they’re trying to find appropriate pairings and styles for different competitions and oppositions that may come down the line.
“But the competition for the No.10 jersey is the one I’d like to compete for and hopefully I can get a bit of time there on the back of good performances for Saints.
“The competition in England is fierce – the Premiership’s a tough league and in a pivotal position you’re always going to have a closer magnifying glass on you. But that’s what keeps you striving to get better and keeps you on your toes, which is great.”
A broken jaw in preseason delayed Francis’ competitive debut for Saints until October, after which an ankle knock against Wasps came as a further setback.
England boss Eddie Jones kept the faith, for which Francis is grateful, and he is now desperate to help propel struggling Saints up the Premiership table.
He said: “The ankle injury altered my involvement in the Portugal training camp and hindered my chances of being involved in the first November game against Argentina, but to be fully involved against Samoa and get decent game time was fantastic.
“I appreciate the fact Eddie stuck by me despite being in and out at Saints, but he’s given me another shot and I’m just trying to do what they ask of me. “It’s great to have been involved again internationally and to get the learning from that and try to improve my game. I want to bring that back to Northampton now, get a string of positive games under my belt and really kickon for club and country.”
Last week’s bitterly disappointing home league defeat to Newcastle saw Saints slip to tenth.
However, Francis insists: “The table’s not a pretty sight but this is not going to go on and we’re optimistic because two wins can put us back in the top six.
“We’re in a hole and confidence is an element of that, but we’ve got good players and if we start finishing the chances we’re creating it will be a whole different story. Even Saracens are losing games so it’s something you just have to get through.”