Franco could face Boks or Scots decision

07/02/2024 03:25 AM

Franco Smith has proved that you don't need to be a big-name coach to achieve the impossible, writes SIMON BORCHARDT.

Jake White's post-URC final interview was hard to watch. Ashen-faced and with bloodshot eyes, the Bulls coach bemoaned the lost opportunity and refused to take any consolation from their season as a whole.

I was gutted for White. But I was also thrilled for Glasgow Warriors coach Franco Smith, who had fulfilled what seemed to be Mission Impossible by beating the Bulls at altitude in Pretoria in front of 52,000 fans, a week after dethroning Munster in Limerick.

In August 2022, the former Springbok flyhalf took over a Glasgow team that had suffered a humiliating 76-14 defeat to Leinster in their URC quarter-final, having failed to qualify for the Champions Cup for the first time in 16 years.

Smith's appointment was described as “underwhelming” by local media and met with scepticism by fans. He wasn't a big-name coach and hadn't won a match as Italy boss in the 2020 and 2021 Six Nations tournaments before moving into a high-performance role.

However, it didn't take Smith long to win over his Scottish doubters. He kept the assistant coaches who had worked under Wilson and did not make a single signing during his first season in charge, yet was able to transform the team into fourth-placed URC finishers and Challenge Cup finalists. While the Warriors lost their home quarter-final to eventual winners Munster, their progress under Smith saw him win the URC Coach of the Year award.

When appointed, Smith said the Glasgow job had appealed to him because it was a big challenge and required him to develop players at the club. He also emphasised his two coaching objectives: to play winning rugby and to play a style of rugby that fans wanted to watch.

Smith has developed players, with the likes of flyhalf Tom Jordan and centre Stafford McDowall, who weren’t considered by Wilson, thriving this season.

He has also achieved both of his goals.

The Warriors entertained this season, scoring the third-most tries in the URC (80), making the most clean breaks (183), beating the most defenders (485), and making the second-most running metres (8,243).

But they also played to win, scoring 25 tries from mauls, which proved to be their biggest weapon in the final against a much-vaunted Bulls pack.

They showed heart on defence, too, with a 91% tackle success rate in the URC season, and 93% in the final (compared to the Bulls' 81%).

No sooner had another South African, Glasgow captain Kyle Steyn, lifted the URC trophy at Loftus than Smith was being tipped as a future Springbok coach. Smith was the Bok backline coach under Allister Coetzee and Rassie Erasmus wanted his former teammate to stay on when he became Bok coach in 2018. Erasmus must rate Smith even higher now.

Smith is also being tipped to replace Gregor Townsend as Scotland head coach, with Smith currently contracted at Glasgow until the end of the 2025-26 season and Townsend's Scotland deal set to expire in April 2026. Perfect timing, Scots would say.

Coaching Scotland – who have never won an expanded Six Nations – would provide Smith with a far greater challenge than taking over multiple World Cup winners, but the chance to come back to South Africa for the top job may prove too appealing to turn down.

There will be even more speculation around Smith's future if Glasgow go on to build on their URC title triumph. For now, though, let's just celebrate the success of one of South Africa's finest coaching exports.

Photo: Glasgow Warriors/Facebook

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