{{Short description|Wales international rugby league footballer}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2016}} {{Use British English|date=October 2016}} {{Infobox rugby league biography |name = Howell de Francis |fullname = Howell de Francis |image = |imagesize = |caption = |birth_date = {{birth date|df=y|1878|10|5}} |birth_place = Gwar y ceaua, Port Talbot, Wales |death_date = {{dda|df=y|1966|4|3|1878|10|5}} |death_place = Wigan, Greater Manchester, England |weight = |position = Forward |club1 = {{nowrap|Bradford F.C.}} |year1start = 1904 |year1end = 07 |appearances1 = 72 |tries1 = 10 |goals1 = 6 |fieldgoals1 = |points1 = 42 |club2 = {{nowrap|Bradford Northern}} |year2start = 1907 |year2end = 08 |appearances2 = 21 |tries2 = 6 |goals2 = 4 |fieldgoals2 = |points2 = 26 |club3 = Wigan |year3start = 1908 |year3end = 11 |appearances3 = 74 |tries3 = 23 |goals3 = 1 |fieldgoals3 = |points3 = 71 |teamA = Other Nationalities |yearAstart = 1906 |yearAend = |appearancesA = 1 |triesA = 0 |goalsA = 0 |fieldgoalsA = 0 |pointsA = 0 |teamB = Wales |yearBstart = 1908 |yearBend = 09 |appearancesB = 2 |triesB = |goalsB = |fieldgoalsB = |pointsB = |retired = yes |source = <ref name="Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org">{{cite web|url=http://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/players/h-francis/summary.html|title=Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org|publisher=rugbyleagueproject.org|date=31 December 2011|accessdate=1 January 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Rugby league records |id=9851 |title=Howell de Francis |access-date=19 February 2025}}</ref> }}
'''Howell de Francis''' (1878-1966) was a Welsh professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1900s and 1910s. He played at representative level for Wales, and at club level for Bradford Northern and Wigan, as a forward.<ref name="Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org"/><ref>{{cite book| first1= Graham| last1= Williams| first2= Peter| last2= Lush| first3= David| last3= Farrar| title= The British Rugby League Records Book| publisher= London League| isbn= 978-1-903659-49-6| year= 2009| pages= 108–114}}</ref><ref name="Statistics at rugbyleague.wales">{{cite web|url=https://rugbyleague.wales/player-rl?id=157874&authtoken=QkU3RUVDRjAtMzYzNi00Q0M3LTk0Q0EtMEE4MUI2QkJGMjM4&teamid=MTA1MzU3|title=Statistics at rugbyleague.wales|publisher=rugbyleague.wales|date=31 December 2019|accessdate=1 January 2020}}</ref>
==Background== Howell de Francis was born in Port Talbot, Wales, in 1878. In 1911 he was a lodger in the house of George and Matilda Scott at 17, Kimberley St Wigan. He married Janet Halliwell in 1912. After her death in 1913 he married Johanna Simpson Williams in 1915.
==Playing career==
===International honours=== Howell de Francis won caps for Wales while at Wigan in 1908 against New Zealand, and in 1909 against England.<ref name="Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org"/>
===Championship final appearances=== Howell de Francis played as a forward in Wigan's 7-3 victory over Oldham in the Championship Final during the 1908–09 season at The Willows, Salford on Saturday 1 May 1909.<ref>{{cite web|title=1908–1909 Championship Final|url=http://wigan.rlfans.com/fusion_pages/index.php?page_id=414|work=cherryandwhite.co.uk|publisher=wigan.rlfans.com|accessdate=3 January 2012|archive-date=26 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181026192936/http://wigan.rlfans.com/fusion_pages/index.php?page_id=414|url-status=dead}}</ref>
===County Cup Final appearances=== Howell de Francis played as a forward and scored a try in Wigan's 22-5 victory over Leigh in the 1909 Lancashire Cup Final during the 1909–10 season at Wheater's Field, Broughton, on Saturday 27 November 1909.<ref name="1909-1910 Lancashire Cup Final">{{cite web|url=http://wigan.rlfans.com/fusion_pages/index.php?page_id=413|title=1909–1910 Lancashire Cup Final|publisher=wigan.rlfans.com|date=31 December 2011|accessdate=1 January 2012|archive-date=31 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131231001923/http://wigan.rlfans.com/fusion_pages/index.php?page_id=413|url-status=dead}}</ref>
===Club career=== Howell de Francis was considered a "Probable" for the 1910 Great Britain Lions tour of Australia and New Zealand, but ultimately he was not selected for the tour.<ref name="Northern Union – The Colonial Football Tour – Probable Players">{{cite web|url=http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&d=EP19100413.2.33&cl=CL1.EP&l=mi&e=-------10--1----0--|title=Northern Union – The Colonial Football Tour – Probable Players|publisher=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz|date=31 December 2011|accessdate=1 January 2012}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *[http://wigan.rlfans.com/readarticle.php?article_id=325 Statistics at wigan.rlfans.com]
{{Wigan - 1908–09 Championship Final winners}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Francis, Howell de}} Category:1878 births Category:1966 deaths Category:20th-century Welsh sportsmen Category:Bradford F.C. players Category:Bradford Bulls players Category:Rugby league forwards Category:Rugby league players from Port Talbot Category:Wales national rugby league team players Category:Welsh rugby league players Category:Wigan Warriors players Category:Other Nationalities rugby league team players