Neil Francis

Neil Francis is a retired Irish rugby union lock forward and number eight. He played club rugby for Blackrock College, London Irish, Old Belvedere and provincially for Leinster. Francis also earned 36 caps for Ireland between 1987 and 1996 and competed in three rugby world cups in 1987, 1991 and 1995 respectively.

In November 2019, he suggested South Africa's win in the Rugby World Cup was "tainted by steroids".

On 23 July 2021, the Irish Independent newspaper terminated his contract, where he had been a columnist, following his remarks on one of their podcasts about British and Irish Lions player Marcus Smith. Francis described Smith, a half-Filipino, as having a "David Beckham haircut and an Oompa Loompa tan". The Lions also criticised the remarks as "offensive". Francis apologised for any offence taken and for the fact that the comments were interpreted differently from what he intended.