The whys and wherefores of Francis’ curious deal with Chiefs

IT seemed as straightforward as drinking a cup of tea.

Tomas Francis would either play 12 more Tests in the year before the end of his contract with Exeter Chiefs or face a huge decision on his future under the rule that stops exiled players with fewer than 60 caps from playing for Wales.

If he didn’t pull on the red jersey a dozen times before next July, the 28-year-old prop, it seemed, would have to head for the regional game or stay in the west of England and see his Wales days halted.

“It would be a terribly difficult decision, one I do not want to have to make,’’ he said four months ago about his potential club v country headache.

“I want to keep playing for Wales. I also want to keep playing for Exeter.’’

But on Sunday came some not altogether expected news.

It transpired Francis had signed up for the Chiefs again.

How had he squared the circle? Some are still wondering...

WHAT’S HAPPENED?

On Sunday morning Exeter announced they had handed longterm deals to 30 players, including Francis.

Had the prop decided to nail his colours to the Chiefs’ mast at the expense of Wales? It seemed a fair question to ask given Francis’ quotes from early spring.

But simplicity is rarely at the heart of anything to do with Big Tom.

He had previously avoided being captured under the 60-cap rule when Exeter revealed the club had exercised a clause in his old deal to keep him at Sandy Park.

It meant the union’s rule didn’t apply to him. “When he initially signed his last contract there was a clause within that contract which stated his contract could be extended with us as long as various things were met. That’s what’s been the case,” Exeter director of rugby Rob Baxter said at the time of the 2019 arrangement.

“Tom’s not come off contract, it’s just been a very easy extension because both he wanted to stay and we wanted to keep him and we both fulfilled obligations that lengthened the extent of his contract.”

Exeter stressed all 30 of the deals over the weekend were extensions rather than new deals.

WHAT IT MEANS FOR FRANCIS’ WALES CAREER

As he penned an extension it means Francis is set to retain his eligibility at least for the final year of his old package.

But there are still questions over his Test career from the 2021-22 campaign onwards.

On the surface, the 48-cap player needs to acquire those elusive dozen more caps before next July to reach the WRU’s golden figure of 60 for exiled players.

It’s not impossible, with Wales possibly playing five Tests in the autumn, followed by another five in the Six Nations and maybe a further two on a summer tour they could undertake.

Some of those matches could be played outside Test windows, which would create a problem for Francis, though.

And it would be a stretch to imagine he’d feature in every game. But all this might be academic if the deal he has penned over the weekend has the same status and rollover element as the one he signed in 2019.

Then, he’d just carry on playing for Wales.

But his quotes in late March cast doubt on such an arrangement being in place.

WHAT DO WELSH RUGBY’S POWER BROKERS THINK OF ALL THIS?

They have yet to definitively rule on it.

Understandably, they have other things on their minds at this point, what with the Welsh game and rugby generally looking at virus-enforced circumstances that have left huge swathes of the sport in perilous economic waters.

Wayne Pivac will doubtless want World Cup man Francis at his disposal.

But the assumption is the union will still want to check the small print of the latest package.

They need to be seen to be doing that to be fair to other players such as Rhys Webb and Thomas Young who have found themselves snared by the 60-cap rule at various points.

If the union rule that Francis has signed a contract without a rollover clause similar to the one in his last package he could face a huge battle to continue his Wales career.

WHAT COULD HAPPEN NEXT?

The union need to clarify the position and then make a call.

Francis, meantime, is expected to carry on playing Test rugby over the next 12 months.

If the union decree that he has to hit the 60-cap figure to continue with Wales, it’ll take a major effort to get there.

Are there mitigating circumstances he could bring into play if he falls just short?

Well, he could point out that the coronavirus pandemic has potentially costs him two caps against New Zealand this summer, with the game against Japan falling outside the Test window.

And he might further contend if he’s picked for the Lions next summer, he might also be denied further opportunities to play for Wales.

Under those circumstances, Francis could appeal to the Professional Rugby Board to show some flexibility as they did when granting Webb a sixmonth dispensation to play for Wales in the Six Nations after he tied up a deal to leave Toulon for the Ospreys from this summer.

Should Francis be stuck on, say, 57 caps, would the PRB exercise discretion once again? It really wouldn’t be out of the question.

VERDICT

A morning trying to make sense of a Tomas Francis contract story, when all the details are not in the public domain, can leave a man with brainache. But some things appear clear.

If there’s another rollover clause in his deal, which didn’t appear obvious when he spoke about his situation close on 16 weeks ago, Francis will hope he can escape the tentacles of the WRU’s rule on exiled players.

If not, it’s going to be touch and go whether he’s a Wales player this time next year.

Uncertainty it is, then, right now. Watch this space.