'Tough journey' leaving Bath for France - Francis

Asha Francis won three Superleague titles as a player with Team Bath in 2006, 2010 and 2013

Asha Francis says it has been a "tough journey" this summer after leaving Team Bath and being appointed head coach of the France national team.

Five-time domestic champions Bath have been omitted from the relaunched Netball Super League (NSL), which has reduced to eight teams as part of plans to go professional from 2025.

Head coach Francis was subsequently appointed as France boss earlier this month as they bid to reach the Netball World Cup within the next two cycles.

"It's been a tough journey," Francis told BBC Radio Bristol. "Across the summer, I've had my ups and downs with it [Super League omission].

"The signing period has happened and there's that sort of tinge of [sadness]. That's not us, we're not there.

"Our summer signing period is absolutely mental and I got to just relax with my family which was really nice but there's always that sort of bittersweet part of it.

"We are incredibly grateful we still have the pathway so up to under-23s, Team Bath will still exist and hopefully still be contributing to the netballers of the future."

Francis, who won three Superleague titles with Team Bath as a player, including one as captain, was appointed as the club's head coach in 2022 following a year as technical coach under Anna Stembridge.

Team Bath were the Superleague's most successful team as five-time champions but their omission has meant they have now disappeared from the elite game.

"Hopefully, in a few years, there will be a stadium built somewhere in the south-west [of England] for us to play netball in," she added.

"Perhaps we needed to take stock, be outside of it for a bit, watch what happens with the new era of the Super League because who knows what will happen."

Former goal-attack Francis represented England and Singapore, where she moved to with her family in 2018, before returning to the UK in 2021.

Regarding her new role, Francis revealed she already has more than a head-start on breaking down any potential language barriers.

"I actually used to teach French to GCSE so my first job was as a secondary languages teacher," she added.

"It was kind of one of the main motivations as to why I wanted to do it because I haven’t taught it for a while and I haven’t used it so I thought maybe I’d get into it a little bit.

"Because netball is limited to the Commonwealth countries a lot of what’s been started has been ex-pats that are living abroad in France.

"So lots of the women that are involved in it are ex-pats and then there's a couple of French people sprinkled in there."

But Francis will not allow herself to forget her time with the blue and gold.

She added: "If it's not going to be with Bath then I just thought this is a brilliant opportunity to keep my hand in the game.

"I mean it's red, white and blue - there’s still an element of blue in there."