Roy Francis (rugby league)

Roy Francis is a British former rugby league coach with Hull, Leeds and North Sydney. He was the first black, British professional coach in any sport.

After a playing career with Wigan, Barrow, Warrington and Hull, he became a coach with Hull FC. Renowned for his innovative coaching methods, he was regarded as a visionary. He led Hull 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 Sydney before another brief stint at Leeds.

Francis was also a highly accomplished player, scoring 229 tries in his 356 career games, chiefly as a winger. He came from Tiger Bay, Wales. He played for Brynmar rugby union club before joining Wigan on November 14, 1936. He made his Wigan debut on March 26, 1937.

He moved to Barrow in January 1939 but then served in the Army during the Second World War. He played rugby union in the Army and also made guest appearances for Dewsbury before returning to Barrow after the war. He joined Warrington for £800 in July 1948. He moved to Hull FC in November 1949 for a fee of £1,250.

He represented Great Britain but was controversially overlooked for one Ashes tour to Australia for political reasons, the organisers fearing the ructions that could be caused by travelling to a country with an infamous bar on non-white people.

He played his last game on Boxing Day 1955 before switching to coaching, a field in which he was to make an even greater impact. His man-management, coaching methods and use of psychological techniques were considered years ahead of their time. He was the first coach to embrace players' families and offer them transport to games.

He left for Leeds in 1963 and famously oversaw their victory in the 1968 'Watersplash' Challenge Cup final at Wembley. He moved to Northy Sydney in 1968 and stayed until 1970. He won a Premiership title back at Leeds in 1974 and then coached Bradford from 1975.