{"id":367568,"date":"2026-01-13T15:46:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-13T15:46:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/367568\/"},"modified":"2026-01-13T15:46:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-13T15:46:09","slug":"big-wales-stars-three-year-test-exile-almost-over-as-deal-agreed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/367568\/","title":{"rendered":"Big Wales star’s three-year Test exile almost over as ‘deal agreed’"},"content":{"rendered":"

The 77-cap tighthead has not played for Wales since the 2023 World Cup quarter-final against Argentina<\/p>\n

12:41, 13 Jan 2026Updated 12:43, 13 Jan 2026<\/p>\n

\"Tomas<\/p>\n

Tomas Francis could soon be playing for Wales again(Image: Huw Evans Picture Agency Ltd)<\/p>\n

Wales prop Tomas Francis is set to join Sale Sharks in a move that could revive his Test career, according to reports.<\/p>\n

The 33-year-old has not played for Wales since joining French Pro D2 club Provence on a three-year deal back in 2023, with the last of his 77 Test caps coming against Argentina in that year’s World Cup quarter-final. However, the tighthead never actually retired from international rugby.<\/p>\n

Instead, his exile from the national team has been down to focusing on spending time with his family in France.<\/p>\n

A move back to the Gallagher Prem – with Francis having previously played for Exeter – should put Francis back in the Wales picture, were Steve Tandy to want the experienced prop.<\/p>\n

Daily Mail <\/a>are reporting that Sale have agreed a deal for Francis, meaning they could have two Wales internationals in their front-row next season – having already signed Nicky Smith from Leicester.<\/p>\n

Prior to his move to France, Francis had been the cornerstone of Wales’ scrum since making his debut ahead of the 2015 World Cup – winning Six Nations<\/a> titles in 2019 and 2021.<\/p>\n

\"Tomas<\/p>\n

Tomas Francis of Provence(Image: 2025 Icon Sport)<\/p>\n

In recent seasons, Keiron Assiratti and Archie Griffin have emerged as Wales’ tighthead options.<\/p>\n

Francis has been open about his desire to play for Wales again, explaining previously that he would “put his hand up” in the future once his time in France was done.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been open with Wales,\u201d he told RugbyPass<\/a> in 2024. \u201cI\u2019ve never retired from Test rugby and I never will retire, but I\u2019ve moved my family to France and I want to spend my time with them while I\u2019m here. If I\u2019m going back to Wales to play, then they\u2019d be stuck in France on their own for weeks on end and that wouldn\u2019t be fair.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I came out here, I just thought I needed to be with my wife and two daughters if they were to settle, and I needed to fully buy into the club and everything to do with the rugby so I could give the move my best shot.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo that\u2019s the position. Of course, if there was a crisis and Wales didn\u2019t have other tightheads and needed me, then that would be something to think about, but I don\u2019t expect that to happen as they are developing some youngsters, and I\u2019m not sure Wales want it to happen, anyway.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe way things stand I\u2019m going to see out my contract with my full focus on the club. After that, who knows?<\/p>\n

\u201cWales are trying to develop depth and I think they are right to do so. Me and \u2018Dils\u2019 (Dillon Lewis) started the majority of matches at tighthead after 2015.<\/p>\n

“I miss it, of course I do, and I want to play, but being away from international rugby and just focusing on the club scene has refreshed my body.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think I\u2019ll have a few years left in me when I finish this contract, and if I\u2019m still good enough and Wales need me, I\u2019ll be there. I\u2019ll put my hand up.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The 77-cap tighthead has not played for Wales since the 2023 World Cup quarter-final against Argentina 12:41, 13…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":367569,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[5903,101,102635,56,54,55,9015],"class_list":["post-367568","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-rugby","tag-sports","tag-tomas-francis","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom","tag-wales-rugby-team"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/367568","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=367568"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/367568\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/367569"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=367568"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=367568"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=367568"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}