After much anticipation, the wait is over.
Glasgow Warriors announced this week that Franco Smith will be taking charge of the side on a two-year contract.
Smith is joining Scotstoun after leaving his position as Head of High Performance for the Italian men’s National team. Smith has also served as the head coach for Italy before Kieran Crowley, along with stints as a back coach for the South African side the Cheetahs at both Currie Cup and Super Rugby level.
After working a notice period in Italy before joining Scotstoun, Smith will already have been in close talks with his assistant coaches Nigel Carolan, Peter Murchie, Alasdair Dickinson and Pete Horne in the run-up to the preseason fixtures.
It has been a mixed reaction from the Warrior Nation. Some fans and journalists have written Smith off before he’s even entered the country, whereas others are quite content with the appointment.
With the current state of the team offering mid-table prospects in recent season, Glasgow were never going to sign a huge name despite the potential in the squad. Smith is an outsider which is what I think Glasgow need. We need someone who isn’t going to allow the SRU to walk all over them.
Having experienced what it is like coaching a national side, Smith should know how to keep a hold of the dressing room. Glasgow need someone with experience and the ability to dig their heels in when necessary in order to form a team with his own identity on it.
He’s already turned one club around so I have faith Smith can do what he did with Benetton again with this Glasgow side.
53 responses
It’s a bit of a stretch to claim Smith turned Benetton around isn’t it?
Is it ? Come on Sam , I think maybe a bit of writers privilege and why not , this is a positive start for Glasgow.
I see no reason not to welcome Franco and I predict he will leave Glasgow in a better place than he found them.
It is not a stretch to say we are out of the Champions Cup and shipping 76 points to Leinster Seconds. It is a great prospect for Franco and a good appointment by Glasgow.
The Leinster result is blown out of proportion. The Great Dave Rennie’s last match in charge was a 55-19 defeat to Leinster. Montpellier got beat 89-0 and they got to the semi final of Champions cup and won the Top 14. If you turn up at Leinster with an under strength pack you will get torn to shreds. Glasgow that day had a pack that was completely outgunned due to key injuries so it wasn’t so much of a surprise. However they have recruited is exactly the right areas to strengthen that pack . I said before DW was sacked that I would expect Glasgow to achieve at least a URC semi and a Challenge cup semi this year based on their additional recruitment, players back from injury,Youngster a year more developed. So that would be my bench mark for Franco. If he can deliver that or better then good on him I’ll consider that Glasgow have either broken even or made a net gain. If he is going to achieve that he’ll need to find a way to get the best out of Domingo Miotti and Huw Jones.
I can understand some of this comment and even agree with it in places. But I counter why Glasgow would go to the expense of appointing another overseas coach if they felt confident it will all come good again so easily. I think Franco will need to earn his fee to get the best Glasgow side back into the European Cup again. I hope he is the man to do it, however from all I have read, he is a good fit.
It’s pretty well documented that DW’s sacking was a response to a fans revolt on season tickets. They would never have entered the market for a new coach at this time otherwise and apart from Dalziel there is no home grow coach anywhere near experienced enough.
On 6th June 2022 the Scotsman in response to why Danny was sacked documented big Al’s reasoning “The recent run of results has not been acceptable and has had a significant impact on everyone connected to the club,” said Al Kellock, the Glasgow Warriors managing director. Danny was unlucky with player availability however Glasgow did come 8th in the URC and many other sides were in the same boat with availability. It is not always fair but the life of a head coach can be volatile IMO.
What did you expect him to say? We got spanked off Leinster on the same day we hiked up the ticket prices. Everyone told us to F off so we had to throw Danny under the bus to cheer them up?
Anyway it’s done.
The point is what does Franco have to achieve to be a success. Would you happy with two quarter finals given he has a significantly beefed up pack to work with?
The timing of hiking fees was very poor judgment. Speaking of which , you are right, Glasgow should not be looking for a coach just now, It is my opinion that DW was an unusual choice in the first place and he was probably thrown under the bus then. Just my opinion, his predecessors all had more experience.
His first season was bearable had it kicked on, but there was too many challenges last season and to add to it all the URC was a new competition with new dynamics.
Looking back , even a more mature coach, may, have struggled, who can say, however I do think we would have had a better chance with a someone who had a better (longer) track record.
My point is that I can see the fans being even more unhappy if another coach does not meet expectations. That should be the concern for Glasgow. This is not the end of a saga. It is a mid point and one man lost his job, we all forget the human cost , I hope he kicks on.
Talking of which I would love it if we could meet your expectations of two quarters, that is a good objective.
I think the URC is a challenging competition and will need a bit longer to work out how to stop it tripping us up. If the Glasgow Season Ticket complainants could get behind the side again and make Scotstoun a fortress , It will be a good start. It will take more than a new coach.
yeah I’m basically agreeing with you. I posted on here before DW got the chop that it was a bad idea. The smart move would have been to give him another season with a more complete squad while quietly sounding out potential successors in the background who could come in post world cup if things didn’t improve. Anyway that’s in the past.
Surely tho Franco needs to get to at least Semi finals. Given that DW got the sack for getting to quarter finals (including having an incredibly tough champions cup draw) and with a weaker squad? agree?
I think the decision to sack Danny Wilson was inevitable and correct. It wasn’t just Glasgow’s final placing, or their abject humiliation by Leinster, it was the nature of their performances. Fan discontent was v high before that game as Glasgow had mastered the art of second half collapses and optional-defending. They were playing like what they were – a very poorly coached side that looked like they didn’t know what the coach wanted from them it didn’t buy into it. The idea of giving Wilson another season is foolish, he was clearly not capable of turning the situation around and another season would just be another season of decline.
I don’t think Smith should be expected to reach much higher benchmarks S he essentially has to rebuild the team with the same squad – the additions are not really major acquisitions apart from Huw Jones and it isn’t at all clear he was needed or where he’ll fit in. Performances must improve significantly – if they do Glasgow will make the play offs. Couldn’t care less about challenge cup, if you don’t win it it is an irrelevance.
Is it ‘pretty well documented that DW’s sacking was a response to a fans revolt on season tickets.’ ? I cannot find that ‘documented’ anywhere, are you sure ?
I am curious to know more about Eve’s comment ‘We need someone who isn’t going to allow the SRU to walk all over them.’ I do feel some commenters in the Blog consider Glasgow exists to feed the national team regardless of the detriment.
By contrast I love Franco’s comment on twitter ‘It is the Warrior Nation’s team and our responsibility as coaches and players to represent them’. What a breath of fresh air.
Simone Favaro sung smith’s praises in an interview with The Times: “Like Gregor grew and developed Glasgow, Franco grew and developed Treviso, making some talented young prospects into proper outstanding players. If the national team [Favaro played in] did well, always being competitive in the Six Nations and beating South Africa [in 2016], a big part of it was the work Franco did with Treviso.
“He wants his teams to dominate. Where they can’t get to via feet, inches and pounds, they get to with hard work, a strong mentality and aggression. Like Gregor, he wants a really fast game, but he also puts a huge amount of study into the opposition. The two of them have a pathological obsession with rugby.
“It wasn’t hard for me to adjust to Glasgow, in terms of the level and the style, precisely because I came from an environment that was very, very similar. Franco, like Gregor, pushes players to the maximum. They have to go beyond their own limits.
“At this moment, Glasgow need someone who can develop players. They spent many years developing guys like [Finn] Russell, [Stuart] Hogg, [Jonny] Gray, and now they need another guy who is a proven developer of talent, because if we’re talking about finance, you can’t compete with the French market, the English market, so you need to do what Glasgow did over many years — and I arrived at the tail end of. It’s about continual growth over many years in the whole culture of the club. That’s what Franco did with Benetton, and in Glasgow he will have a bigger pool of talent at his disposal. I think he can and will do really, really well.”
“When I was with Aironi, I knew all the Benetton boys and it was a period in which they had got strong and really began to develop. Just about all their back-rows were in the national team set-up as well.
“I asked myself, why is there this gap between Aironi, who had players like Fabio Ongaro and Marco Bortolami, and Treviso who have boys who aren’t as experienced, don’t have the same CV as the guys from Aironi, but were managing to do much better.
“When Benetton called me and said, ‘it’s time for you to come home’, I got to know Franco and understood straight away that he was the difference maker. He never looks at names or reputations. When I arrived I had guys like[Robert] Barbieri and [Alessandro] Zanni in front of me, really strong and experienced internationals. But Franco looks closely at your character: reputations don’t interest him.”
“I remember one of the phrases that he said in one of the first meetings. He said, ‘you fight fire with fire, it’s the only way. You need to work harder, do more, be more competitive than the opposition’.”
This appointment could be a very good match.
Good, positive and hopeful comments from Favaro, thanks for posting them. Hopefully this comes out in Glasgow’s play this year.
I do expect Franco Smith to get Glasgow to the semi’s this or even next season. I do not think his success will be judged that way. Sam, being realistic , Franco Smith is starting from ground zero and in previous changes of coach , they got a more positive legacy. There is no momentum. The URC has brought 3 strong SA sides together with the three established Irish sides plus an emerging Edinburgh and Benetton. Getting to the top 4 is harder than ever and we are starting from the farthest away place we have ever been. Establish a team, get to the Quarters, 1872 cup back this side of the M8 and renew his contract in 2 years if he has the team and the fans on side.
Oops error in opening line : Should read ‘I do NOT expect.’
Hi VoR and FF,
Thanks for the replies.
Appreciate you may not completely agree with each other but you’re clearly both thinking along similar lines.
My issue with your views is this.
you both point out how tough the league is.
You both seem to think the squad is in a bad place regardless of new signings. (I personally think the new fwds can make a similar impact to Darge and Dempsey)
and you both think Danny Wilson was rubbish.
and yet, Rubbish Danny Wilson with this useless squad (less new recruits)in this tough league and playing an incredibly tough champion cup draw. with injuries to 3 of his 4 best fwds at the end of the season did exactly that. he got them to two QF.
In his last 12 months they had wins over Leinster, Exeter, Munster and Edinburgh.
and they were winning against away to Exeter, Bulls, La Rochelle and Cardiff until the lack of depth in their pack meant they couldn’t maintain intensity in the last 20. They also could’ve won away to Ulster.
So if that weaker squad with far tougher fixtures and a rubbish Coach who has lost dressing room and the team didn’t know what he wanted could achieve two QF. How is it unreasoable to expect a better coach with a better squad and easier fixtures not to achieve more? even in his first season.
To me that seems inconsistent
I am pleased to read Danny will have success for his CV. I agree with Eve, Franco Smith turned Benetton round and Danny ran out of steam at a club with ambition IMO. No shame in that , but it was clearly time to part.
Not a lot to get excited about here. Scraping the Italian barrel. Hardly a man of the moment. Hope that’s proved wrong.
You took your time. I understand he is South African. Is the big question not why we scraped the bottom of the Scottish Barrel and as a consequence ended up out of Europe and an embarrassing 8th (8/12), getting beaten by the likes of the Dragons . Let’s be honest, he cannot do any worse.
I was trying to motivate myself to comment.
The men of the moment have got jobs. Stepping into Rennie’s shoes had attraction. We screwed up last time and it’s a long way back.
Not really relevant to the article but with the World Cup now only a year away here is my 33 player squad. (Delete if its a big deal)
Forwards
Loosehead (3) – Pierre Schoeman, Rory Sutherland, Jamie Bhatti
Hooker (3) – George Turner, Ewan Ashman, Stuart McInally
Tighthead (3) – Zander Fagerson, Willem Nel, Simon Berghan
Lock (4) – Grant Gilchrist, Sam Skinner, Scott Cummings, Jonny Gray
Backrow (6) – Jamie Ritchie, Hamish Watson, Matt Fagerson, Rory Darge, Andy Christie, Jack Dempsey*
Bradbury if Dempsey opts for Australia
Backs
Scrumhalf (3) – Ali Price, Ben White, George Horne
Fly Half (2) – Finn Russell, Adam Hastings
Centre (5) – Sam Johnson, Chris Harris, Cameron Redpath, Mark Bennett, Huw Jones
Back-Three (4) – Stuart Hogg, Darcy Graham, Duhan Van Der Merwe, Blair Kinghorn
What would your squad be?
No room for Oli Kebble ?
On what basis? he is not ahead of Schoeman, Sutherland or Bhatti in the current Scotland Set up and there are big questions over his fitness.
Who would you swap him in for?
It is true he is not flavour of the month with the Scotland. Personally I think he is too good to miss out , let’s see what side of the scrum he starts on. I haven’t seen much of Berghan lately. LH , PS looks best and the other pair could be gazumped by a motivated Kebble as he has headroom to improve IMO.
Not bad but highlights a few weaknesses (which we already knew about tbf).
Nel and Berghan = such weak options. Don’t think we can really rely on Nel anymore and hopefully Walker steps up this year to replace him. Berghan needs game time or will be replaced by Sebastian (I guess…).
Personally prefer Crosbie to Christie but don’t really mind either way. If Dempsey can recapture his form from early last season, it will be very difficult to leave him out.
Vellacott over Horne for me currently but will be a toss up depending on next season’s form.
I love Huw Jones but we need more wing cover in that squad. I think Kyle Steyn would be a better fit.
Not enough hardness in 2nd row. Would not pick Gray or Gilchrist as not good enough
Who instead Rob? Options are not that great yet, a few upcoming good players and perhaps Alex Craig?
Firstly, unless they have changed things, you are only allowed a 31 man squad.
On that basis it might be prudent to take Kebble as a 5th prop covering both sides and freeing up a spot.
Think Cherry may take the 3rd hooker spot over McInally and I’d probably take Bradbury over Christie.
In the backs one of the centres will probably miss out, I’d probably take Vellacott over Horne and Thompson over Hastings on latest form.
All that being said there is a long way to go with probably 12 or 13 internationals between now and RWC23, but lets hope Toonie Tombola is over after the South American tour.
@Merlot
Yeah it has increased from 31 to 33 for this WC
Hi Neil, I think you’re pretty close. I do believe Sebastian is ahead of Bergan now. I also think there will be 4 centres and 5 back 3 players.
Tuipulotu, Redpath, Harris, Bennett.
DVDM, Hogg, Graham, Kinghorn, Rowe
I’m thinking Huw Jones arrival at Glasgow is designed to get Tuipulotu more game time at 12 as this is where GT really wants him.
The most exciting player, week in week out, tried and tested in the Premiership, not mentioned anywhere is Hutchinson . Done nothing wrong, just no place for him.
Think Hutchison has definitely done more to deserve a place that Tuipulotu. He also provides a lot of utility cover that the latter doesn’t.
Have Tuipulotu, Rowe and Redpath earned a place on the world cup 23 ? On what grounds ! Tui was average on the tour, the other pair have a cap each and Rowe never finished the game. Bit early to nail them on IMO.
It’s more who I think Townsend favours. Forgetting his little Cameo vs Wales, Redpath’s only proper cap also happened to be the most complete performance by a scottish 12 in the last decade and townsend brought him straight into the starting line up as soon as he was available so i think if he’s fit and in form he starts above anyone else.
In his absence Johnson is the reliable option but it does look to me like GT is trying to move away from him particularly if he’s committed to Harris at 13. He’s given Tuipulotu plenty of chances including starting 6N games ahead of Johnson. I think Tuipulotu has plenty of improving to do and at his best offers more than Johnson. I think GT want him playing 12 more regularly at Glasgow so he is better prepared to play there for Scotland. I love Hutchinson but Towsend just doesn’t seem to like him. It’s difficult to know where Huw Jones stands
The 5th Back 3 player is between Steyne, McLean and Rowe. Steyne didn’t go on the summer tour and had some questionable Scotland games so looks to have dropped down the pecking order.
McLean’s form for Glasgow has been up and down and he didn’t do himself any favours on tour. Rowe had by far the best club season of these 3. He’s been in every Scotland squad in 2022 and was unlucky to get injured. not sure how long he’s out for but if he can continue his club form he got a great opportunity to go to the world cup. One left field option if he can rediscover his best form at Bath is that Ruaridh McConnochie could switch allegiance. Hoyland got send home after the A game so who else is there?
Redpath might make an appearance for Bath in their pre-season games, he’s certainly back on the mend. Townsend might be better leaving him out of the autumn squad to get some more rugby under his belt.
Interesting discussion about centres. Tui is certainly being given chances but I don’t quite see it, I think Johnson has been a bit hard done by and Hutchison inexplicably marginalised really. Bennett has a real opportunity to usurp Harris; I really thought his test career was over so it’s great to see him back knocking on the first team door. I’d like to see us go with Redpath/Hutchison, Bennett/Harris and maybe with Jones as a bit of a utility back to sit on the bench. I think he’s got more to give but needs to settle in well back at Glasgow.
Think you need to drop a centre (5 players for 2 positions) and add a back 3 player (4 players for 3 positions)?
I’d drop Cam Redpath (for now) and add Rory hutchinson; Also drop Huw Jones I guess as we don’t need another 13 and Harris / Bennett are more deserving; And add…..Kyle Steyn in back 3? Or Jones as the Back 3 / Centre combo.
Also not relevant to this article but what, if anything, does Argentina whipping Australia say about Scotland’s narrow series loss over the summer? Are we not giving Argentina credit for how good they actually are or are Oz just bad at the moment (I didn’t see the game at the weekend).
All i know from it is that Scotland are now above Australia in the world rankings.
Big gap on points between the top 5 (Ireland, France, SA, NZ and England) and 6th-9th place (Scotland, Australia, Wales, Argentina)
Seems slightly crazy that the 1st, 3rd and 6th place teams are all in the same pool stage huh.
To answer your question, i would say Oz are pretty poor right now, but Argentina had one of their good days (which are becoming more common under Michael Cheika)
Bit of both, as Neil said.
Australia have a major injury crisis at the moment (pretty much a full 23 out injured) but aren’t very good regardless.
Argentina were allowed to get into a rhythm and took advantage well. They’re better than they have been but are about the same level as us (and Aus/Wales/maybe England) I’d say.
I though Gilco’s captaincy was good , we cannot go back to Hogg, but Neil is right , there is no real standout player. Where is the next Big Jim or Nathan Hines. We do not have a undercurrent of nasty in the second row community.
Also, nothing to do with this article. I live in NZ, have supported and played in Scotland. Please tell me the SRU are looking at Scott Robertson. It would be the ultimate World Cup move. Sticking with Townsend will be another 4 years wasted.
I would hope the SRU are in contact with Duhan VDM offering him a return “home” (if required)
I love nothing more than reminding our readers that Price and DVM are our most capped Lions. He will not struggle for a game.
He’d probably fancy turning out for one of the SA clubs in the URC?
Still no news from Sixways however Toulon would appear keen to hire DVM. Sutherland , no rumor’s. I hope the worst does not happen.
Confirmed that the match v Glasgow in Inverness will go ahead next week after main shirt sponsor agreed to cover the logistical costs.
They’re now playing the Ayrshire Bulls in Inverness after Worcester decided not to travel.
Aye my comment aged well huh
The SRU should just buy Worcester warriors , 3rd Pro Team , with a built in fan base and established academy.
Not the worst idea.Didn’t they (apparently) looked into doing something like that aonly a year or two back?
I think they may have before they settled on the French one, and Old Glory etc