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Roy Francis

 

Roy Francis (1919 - 1989) was a Welsh rugby player and coach.  In fact, one of the greatest try scorers and coaches Wales has produced.

Born in Brynmawr, now in Blaenau Gwent, and grew up in Cardiff's Tiger Bay.  He was asked to play for Wigan RFC at the age of only 17.  In that first season he scored 7 tries in the 5 games he played.  Moving to Barrow RFC in 1939 - perhaps because a new Australian coach at Wigan wouldn't pick him - he served during the Second World War, becoming a PE instructor.  After the war he returned to Barrow and later Hull.

 

In a career totalling 356 matches, Roy Francis scored 229 tries.

Yet, despite being called up for Great Britain he would not tour Australia in 1946.  Organisers of the tour were worried about fielding a black player.  Australia, at the time, had a bar on non-white immigration.   He would play for Great Britain against New Zealand for their 1947 tour of Britain.  He retired as a player in 1955, taking over as coach of his club, Hull RFC.

As a coach he won the Rugby League National Championship 3 times and the RFC Challenge Cup once.

His coaching was more groundbreaking than even his playing career.  An early advocate of sports psychology, he would pay for players' families to travel to games to give then extra support.  He would give players diet plans and even have players filmed so that they could examine their style of play and  pick up on any mistakes.

Roy Francis was, in short, one of the first sports coaches anywhere, in any sport in Britain, to apply what we now think of as Sports Science.   His success even brought him, eventually, to Australia to coach the North Sydney Bears.  Again, however, it seems that race may have been an issue, especially with the Australian press and he only stayed one year.

Roy Francis: rugby trailblazer, visionary coach.

 

For an entertaining take on his life and career, here is Squidge Rugby's video on Roy Francis.  Please be aware that he speaks rather fast at times and sometimes uses adult language.

 

 

 

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