Roy Francis (rugby)

Roy Francis
Personal information
Full nameRoy Francis
Born(1919-01-20)20 January 1919
Brynmawr, Wales
Died1 April 1989(1989-04-01) (aged 70)
Leeds, England
Playing information
PositionWing
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1937–39 Wigan 12 9 0 0 27
1939–48 Barrow 113 72 2 0 220
1948–49 Warrington 37 27 0 0 81
1949–55 Hull FC 127 60 0 0 180
1941–44 →Dewsbury (guest) 57 57 1 0 173
Total 346 225 3 0 681
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1946–48 Wales 5 1 0 0 3
1947 Great Britain 1 2 0 0 6
1942 Northern Command XIII 2 1 0 0 3
1942 Lancashire 1 0 0 0 0
Coaching information
Club
Years Team Gms W D L W%
1955–63 Hull FC
1963–68 Leeds 219 139 4 76 63
1968–70 North Sydney 44 17 2 25 39
1970–73 Hull FC
1974–75 Leeds 44 29 1 14 66
1975–77 Bradford Northern 61 29 3 29 48
Total 368 214 10 144 58
Source:

Roy Francis (20 January 1919 – 1 April 1989) was a Welsh rugby league footballer and coach of the mid 20th century. He was the first Black British professional coach in any sport. Francis, who earlier played rugby union in Wales, was also a highly accomplished player, scoring 229 tries in his 356 career rugby league games, chiefly as a wing. A Great Britain and Wales national representative three-quarter back, he played for English clubs Wigan, Barrow, Dewsbury (World War II guest), Warrington and Hull F.C. Francis then became a head-coach with Hull FC. Renowned for his innovative coaching methods, he was regarded as a visionary, leading Hull FC to title success before going on to win the Challenge Cup with Leeds. He then broke further ground by moving on to coach in Australia with the North Sydney Bears before another brief stint at Leeds, and then Bradford Northern.

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