Tomas Francis: Exeter prop believes Ospreys move will boost his Wales career

Tomas Francis joined Exeter Chiefs from London Scottish in 2014

Prop Tomas Francis says he hopes his Wales career will benefit after his move from Exeter Chiefs to Ospreys.

Francis, 28, had to switch to a Welsh side at the end of his Exeter contract to remain eligible for Wales under the selection policy.

He will now be available for all Wales games and avoid having to play club games between Six Nations weekends.

"Hopefully it can add to my performances and add to me as a player," said Francis.

The York-born tight-head has played all his club rugby in England, but was recruited by coach Warren Gatland in 2015, qualifying through his grandmother from Abercrave.

He will win his 56th cap against Italy in Rome on Saturday.

That will leave him just short of the 60-cap mark needed to stay in England - he had faced having to give up his international career if he wanted to stay at the European and Gallagher Premiership champions.

After months of agonising over his future, Francis is looking on the bright side of moving to Ospreys and having a less hectic schedule during international periods.

"It's good for me, in the last few years I've used it as a positive to go back (to Exeter), refresh and come back, but the age I'm getting to, it would be good to be here (in Wales camp) in those weeks off and recondition," he told BBC Sport Wales.

Francis admits his contribution to the impending move has been mostly limited to negotiating a mortgage for a new home.

"I've been busy here (in Wales camp) so I haven't had much time to think about it," he said.

"There's still a lot of Premiership and European rugby left with Exeter, so I've got to give it my all to try to get picked there and hopefully get some more silverware to leave with.

"I'm excited about the next journey in my life and my girlfriend's from Wales so it'll be nice for her to be close to family, and hopefully the Ospreys are building something I can add to."

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Ospreys have relied on South African Tom Botha and Tongan Ma'afu Fia to fill their number three jersey after moving Rhodri Jones back to his original loose-head role.

After being picked for his ability to maintain a stable scrum for Wales, Francis is now looking to contribute more in open play and with ball in hand under the regime of Wales coach Wayne Pivac.

"When I first came on the scene, a prop didn't have to do much, just have a solid scrum and go from ruck to ruck.

"But now it's about numbers, if you're on for 50 minutes you might have to top the rucks, tackles, breakdown areas, there's so much more to add to your game and it's exciting."

As he prepared to board the flight for Rome, Francis was looking forward to a first sight of spring weather with temperatures forecast of 15 to 17 degrees Celsius on match-day.

"When I was walking off training (in Wales) we had sideways hail, so it would be nice if there's a bit of sun and it's a bit warmer out there," he said.