Victorious Glasgow head coach Franco Smith said he was “grateful and thankful” after guiding the team to the United Rugby Championship title in his native South Africa.
Smith has overseen a huge turnaround in the Warriors fortunes in the two seasons since he replaced Danny Wilson at the helm.
The ex-Italy boss was appointed after Glasgow were annihilated 76-14 by Leinster in a URC quarter-final in Dublin. Winning the competition then seemed years away.
But Smith has transformed the team, and the club, into champions. Having frozen in the Challenge Cup final last season, there was no chance of a repeat in Pretoria as Glasgow came from 13-0 down to stun the Bulls.
READ MORE: Five things we learned as Glasgow stun Bulls to win URC title
Smith said: “It’s a fantastic feeling. Winning is a great feeling. I’m really grateful and thankful.
“I’m a religious person and I’m really thankful for the grace today and the whole season.”
Smith praised the response from his players to experiences like defeat in Dublin last May
“They’ve used disappointment in our favour, we’ve learned lessons but we also have a saying that ‘you don’t have to lose to learn’ and they’ve embraced that mentality, and they are pushing their limits, and their boundaries, and their perimeters of what is expected from this team.
“I am really proud of the way they went around their business tonight and how they have bought into the plan. And I honestly think this is just the start hopefully and they can keep on progressing.”
After their form faltered at the end of the regular season, including a defeat at Loftus Versfeld to the Bulls, Glasgow hung on to a home quarter-final, but their route thereafter was supremely tough.
READ MORE: How the Glasgow players rated after stunning win to become URC champions
Victory last weekend against Munster in Thomond Park booked the Warriors’ place in the final, and if the celebrations after that were muted, they were anything but at Loftus.
“It is an important competition and it’s class to win in different countries," Smith said.
“I know the pride in this stadium, I’ve played here before and this will be hard to beat. I’m really proud.”
Smith said he’d afford the players a chance to enjoy some whisky and a cigar as part of their celebrations.
READ MORE: Franco Smith promises "dram and cigar" for Warriors after URC win
Asked if there would be a party in Pretoria, the Glasgow boss said: “Of course, yes. We won the pinnacle tonight and I’m very proud.
"Some boys are heading back to go into Scotland camp on Monday night, but of course I’m really proud of the boys, because they worked so hard they deserve every minute to celebrate. If you play hard then you can party hard.
“When I started at Glasgow a few years ago, one moringa at 7am I rolled out whisky for everybody to give them a wee taste of what it would be like to have a dram of whisky on the back of a win.
“I said: ‘savour that, keep it in your mind, and one day as soon as we can win something we will have an evening when we can have a dram of whisky and a cigar, and tonight I think these guys merit that.” 
Glasgow fans may have been fearing the worst when Tom Jordan was sent to the sin-bin with three minutes left for a high tackle, but Smith said he was confident his side would hold out as the Bulls attempted to maul their way to a levelling score.
“We hardly gave away a maul try this whole season and I knew the Bulls were not going to play out of that even though we had a yellow card,” he added.
“We had some good defensive sets before that so I just felt if we stayed patient and not get penalised, a turnover will happen.
“I can honestly say, this is not to sound arrogant, that the nerves were under control. I had belief in the boys.
“We’ve been talking about a process the whole year so I backed the process and the boys backed it, and that brought the success."
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