When Franco Smith was named as the new Glasgow Warriors head coach I described the appointment as ‘underwhelming.’ I didn’t get many people on social media calling me out on it.
Another South African arriving into Scottish Rugby after a spell with the Italian Federation didn’t set the pulse racing. Neither did his first competitive game in charge which was a 33-11 defeat to Benetton in Treviso back in September 2022.
Since then he has been anything but underwhelming. The quiet man with a strong religious faith has quietly gone about his business and now this: the greatest victory in the history of Scottish club rugby. I am happy to eat humble pie.
To go to the highveld in South Africa and win at altitude in front of 52,000 hostile fans against the Bulls was remarkable. To be able to keep going from first whistle to last is testament to the character, the resilience, fitness and the ability of Glasgow.
“There was blood, sweat, guts, tears at the end,’’ was how Duncan Weir - who won the PRO12 title with Glasgow in 2015 - summed things up and he was spot on.
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This was a performance of the ages masterminded by the quiet man of Scottish rugby, Franco Smith. You won’t meet a more honest straight forward man.
The players will tell you he starts most tactics meetings with the phrase, ‘I have a plan,’ but it is never a cunning plan like good old Baldrick from Blackadder.
It is a straight forward plan that he says if they stick to will win them matches. He keeps things simple. Never complicates matters. That approach works.
On a personal level he was never going to be like Richard Cockerill when he was Edinburgh coach or Eddie Jones when he was with England. You never knew what either of them was going to say next which made them high-profile in terms of the media.
Smith doesn’t court publicity. Every word from him is measured and he treats the two imposters of triumph and disaster exactly the same.
Even in times of adversity he keeps his cool. When he lost Scotland international scrum-half Ali Price to Edinburgh in November he didn’t panic.
Privately he didn’t want to lose him -no coach wants to lose any player let alone a man who was also a starter for the British and Irish Lions - but it didn’t throw his toys out the pram with the SRU.
Instead he had a quiet word with George Horne and told him he would be having a lot more game time and responsibility. Horne responded superbly and has been one of Glasgow’s top players this season. He was magnificent in the final.
Smith does occasionally let the mask slip and shows his fun side and you could see his pride and joy after the final win when he revealed he was going to have a whisky and cigar to celebrate. Up until that moment seeing him turn up to an after match press conference in his Christmas jumper rather than in his shirt and tie or tracksuit top zipped up was as wild as he got.
The only time I have seen him anything less than level-headed and a bit touchy was after last year’s 43-19 European Challenge Cup final defeat to Toulon.
He was criticised for leaving the experienced trio of Rory Darge, Ali Price and Richie Gray on the bench and for the way his team was so slow out of the blocks that they were 19-0 down by half-time.
He didn’t admit making a mistake in his selection or the way he prepared his team but his sharp reaction to criticism suggested that deep down he knew he had made a massive error.
This time his team had another slow start in a final and were 13-0 down after 36 minutes, but both he and his team had learned from the Toulon experience.
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He didn’t change personnel or tactics and slowly but surely his team forced their way back into the game.
After this win no wonder he is being mentioned as the man most likely to succeed Gregor Townsend as Scotland manager. He extended his contact last year to keep him at the club until the end of the 2025/2026 season.
Gregor Townsend’s deal as Scotland head coach comes to an end in April 2026. Perfect succession planning.
As things stand there can’t be many people - there may be some against him who will want a Scottish coach in charge of the national team- who will complain if he takes over from Townsend as he has brought the best out of the players at Scotstoun and Glasgow supply most of the key players in the Scotland set-up.
Smith’s calming demeanour has had a positive effect on his players although the emotion of the final saw a yellow card for Tom Jordan near the end.
The red mist used to engulf Zander Fagerson in big games but he was magnificent and disciplined in the final and a lot of that is down to the guidance he gets from Smith. His brother Matt was even better in the back row.
Preposterous as it sounds but Dave Rennie didn’t rate Huw Jones when he was in charge of Glasgow and let him move to Harlequins.
He returned a year later and although injured a lot under Danny Wilson it was only when Smith arrived that he returned to his best form. His centre partnership with Sione Tuipulotu is the best in the URC and Jones' try in the final was superb.
Smith also thinks outside the box with his appointment of Kyle Steyn as captain a case in point. There was no doubting the strength of character of Steyn but a winger as skipper? Ask most coaches and they want a player at the heart of the action. Some traditionalists don’t even want a back and believe a forward should always be captain.
Yet Smith named Steyn, who was also born in South Africa like him, as his skipper and it has been an inspired decision.
READ MORE: Matt Fagerson savours URC success alongside brother Zander
A leader on the park, a popular player on it. Smith picked well.
He is a patient coach and has developed players who took time to get going. A case in point is fly-half Jordan. The New Zealander played for Ayrshire Bulls for three years before signing for Glasgow. His first game for the Warriors was also Smith’s first game - the 33-11 defeat to Benetton in Treviso.
He must have seen something in him in defeat because Jordan went on to become first-choice fly-half ahead of Ross Thompson and Duncan Weir.
He would have played the whole of the final if he hadn’t been yellow carded two minutes from time.
Jordan has seen off Thompson to the extent he has been allowed to move to Edinburgh next season. It will be interesting to see if Jordan keeps the starting 10 jersey with Adam Hastings joining the club.
READ MORE: Adam Hastings signs up for Glasgow Warriors return
What makes Smith’s success at Scotstoun even more commendable is the fact that he inherited Danny Wilson’s backroom staff.
He wasn’t able to bring in any trusted lieutenants of his own and had to work with the men there when he arrived.
This was a group of coaches who had been part of the Danny Wilson regime that had seen their team hammered 76-14 by Leinster two years ago that led to the sacking of head coach Wilson.
They must have been as demoralised as the Glasgow players when Smith turned up at Scotstoun.
He didn’t know any of them but they have all worked well together since. Peter Murchie has learned so much from Smith, Alasdair Dickinson has the scrum in good shape and Nigel Carolan is the unsung hero of the coaching group.
Smith isn’t the type who will rest on his laurels and knows expectations have grown following their league win.
They will be competitive in the URC next season of that there is no doubt but they have to set the bar higher and compete against the top sides in the European Cup like Toulouse.
That won’t be easy but the foundations are in place under Smith to give Glasgow a fighting chance of going to the next level.
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