THE unveiling of a monument to Roy Francis in his home town in South Wales reflects not just the fine achievements of the pioneering former player and coach, but also the inclusivity from an earlier era than many sports of Rugby League.
It would be wrong to suggest the winger never experienced racial prejudice after switching to the 13-a-side code from rugby union when he signed for Wigan as a 17-year-old during the 1936-37 season.
But after representing Wales, he became the first black Great Britain international in December 1947, scoring two tries in the 25-9 win over New Zealand at Odsal, then the first black professional coach in any sport in this country when he took charge of Hull in 1950, initially combining the role with playing.
Francis, who had also played for Barrow, Dewsbury (with whom he won two Wartime Championship Finals) and Warrington, notching 229 tries in 356 career appearances between 1937 and 1955, led Hull to league titles in 1956 and 1958 and Challenge Cup finals in 1959 and 1960.
He won that competition with Leeds in 1968, when Wakefield were beaten in the famous ‘Watersplash’ final at Wembley.
And Francis utilised previously unheard-of techniques like video reviews, individual fitness regimes and diet sheets, specific gameplans and employing a specialist sprint coach to improve his players’ running technique.
He is also recognised as one of the first sports coaches to embrace players’ families, offering them transport to matches.
Francis, who had two spells at the helm of both Hull and Leeds and also coached North Sydney Bears and Bradford Northern before retiring in 1977, died in April 1989, aged 70.
He was born in Brynmawr, the market town at the head of the South Wales Valleys where the monument is situated, in January 1919, and played for the local rugby union team, which these days acts as a feeder to Newport Gwent Dragons.
Francis served as an Army physical training instructor during the War, a period which Ian Haywood, founder of the monument project, believes inspired his trailblazing approach to coaching.
“Roy’s job was to rehabilitate soldiers and get them back to fighting fitness. This sort of led onto many of his later techniques,” he explained.
Francis was inducted into the Welsh Sports Hall of Fame in 2018, and the unveiling of the monument follows that of a statue of fellow Welsh, black, Rugby League players Billy Boston and Clive Sullivan – along with Gus Risman – in Cardiff.
“School kids growing up can look at what Roy did in his life and it can hopefully give them some ambition to be able to achieve things,” added Haywood.
Guess at the unveiling included Francis’ fellow former Warrington and Wales players Jonathan Davies, who also represented the Lions, and Mike Nicholas.
