Tom Francis
Answer
Tom Francis writes and researches every page on Sharper Rugby. He is not a dietitian, nutritionist or clinician, and this site is built on published label data and the UK claims register rather than on clinical expertise.
Key takeaways
- Who is he?
- A writer who reads supplement labels and the GB nutrition and health claims register carefully. Sharper Rugby is his work.
- Is he a nutritionist?
- No. He holds no nutrition, dietetic or medical qualification, and the site never gives individual advice.
- So why trust the site?
- Because every figure on it is checkable. The claims come from a public register and the doses come off the label.
- Who should you ask instead?
- A GP, a registered dietitian, or a sports nutritionist working with your club, for anything about your own situation.
What he is not
Tom Francis is not a dietitian, a registered nutritionist, a doctor or a physiotherapist. He holds no clinical qualification of any kind.
That is stated first rather than buried, because health content routinely dresses itself in credentials it does not have, and a site whose whole argument is that supplement marketing overstates itself would be a poor thing to build on an overstatement.
What he actually does
He reads labels, and he reads the register. Every claim discussed on this site is checked against the GB nutrition and health claims register, which is a public document listing what may legally be said about a nutrient and at what intake.
That is not clinical expertise. It is the specific and narrow skill of comparing what a product says on the front with what the panel says on the back and what the regulator has actually accepted, and then reporting the gap. Most of the supplement category rests on that gap going unexamined.
Why that is worth something anyway
Because the questions this site answers are mostly not clinical ones. Whether 1500mg of magnesium bisglycinate delivers 300mg of elemental magnesium is arithmetic. Whether a cramp claim exists in the register is a lookup. Whether a fish oil reaches 250mg of combined EPA and DHA in one capsule or three is on the panel.
None of those needs a clinician and all of them are routinely got wrong. Where a question does need one, the page says so and points at a GP or a physiotherapist rather than answering it.
| Question type | Answered here? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| What does the label actually contain | Yes | Arithmetic from the panel |
| What can legally be claimed for it | Yes | A lookup in a public register |
| What it costs per day to use | Yes | Pack price divided by servings |
| Whether a product is certified for sport | Yes | A batch number lookup |
| Whether you personally should take something | No | That is individual advice |
| What is causing your symptom | No | That is a diagnosis |
| Anything about an under 18 | No | Adult reference values do not transfer |
The method every page follows
- Take the question as a reader would actually type it.
- Check the GB nutrition and health claims register for what may be claimed, and at what intake.
- Read the product panel for active content per serving, not the front of pack.
- Convert compound weights to elemental or active figures where they differ.
- Divide pack price by servings for a real cost per day.
- State plainly where no authorised claim exists, rather than working around it.
- Route anything clinical to a GP or physiotherapist instead of answering it.
The commercial position, stated plainly
Sharper Rugby is published by Futuro Labs and links to Futuro Labs products on Amazon UK, earning a commission on sales. Tom Francis writes for the site on that basis and the relationship is disclosed on every page that carries a product link.
That is a conflict of interest and pretending otherwise would be worse than naming it. What the site does about it is refuse to make claims that do not exist, state where the products fail a check that matters, and tell readers when not to buy. Four of the products covered here carry no sport certification and the site says so on every relevant page. Collagen and lion's mane carry no authorised health claim at all and the site says that too.
Competitor products are never named
No other supplement brand appears anywhere on this site, in any comparison, recommendation or criticism. Pages that would naturally name one instead answer with the criteria a reader can apply to any product on the shelf.
That costs the site some traffic on brand comparison searches. It also means no page here is a disguised attack on a competitor, which given who publishes the site seems the right way round.
Corrections
Errors get fixed and the updated date on the page changes when they are. Any figure on this site can be checked against the sources listed at the foot of each page, and a reader who finds one wrong is doing the site a favour by saying so.
The two things currently held as working assumptions rather than confirmed facts are the sport certification status of the Futuro Labs range, taken as not certified, and the lion's mane extract weight per capsule, inferred from the stated 5 to 1 ratio rather than read off the label. Both are flagged where they appear.
Where to go next
- Editorial policyHow claims are checked and what the site refuses to do.
- Should under 18s take supplements?The clearest example of a question this site declines to answer.
- Supplements for rugby playersThe whole picture, with the claim position for each.
Questions players ask
Is Tom Francis a nutritionist?
No. He holds no nutrition, dietetic or medical qualification, and the site states that rather than implying otherwise.
What qualifies him to write this?
Nothing clinical. The site answers label arithmetic and register lookups, and routes clinical questions elsewhere.
Who publishes Sharper Rugby?
Futuro Labs, whose products the site links to on Amazon UK. That is disclosed on every page carrying a product link.
Does the site review competitor products?
No supplement brand other than Futuro Labs is named anywhere on the site, in any context.
Can he answer a question about my situation?
No. Anything individual belongs with a GP, a registered dietitian, or a sports nutritionist working with your club.
How are errors handled?
They are fixed and the updated date changes. Every figure is checkable against the sources at the foot of each page.