Warriors will be the great entertainers on my watch
NEW COACH SMITH VOWS TO BRING BACK WINNING FEELING
FI’ve followed Glasgow for a long time and it’s always appealed to me
RANCO SMITH has promised to marry style with success after completing a two-year deal to become Glasgow Warriors’ new head coach.
The South African succeeds Danny Wilson, who was sacked in June following a poor series of results that culminated in the Scotstoun club failing to qualify for the Champions Cup for the first time in 16 years.
Sportsmail exclusively revealed in July that Smith was in contention for the job and he moves from the Italian Rugby Federation, where he is serving his notice as head of high performance.
He took charge of the Azzurri for 18 months before then but failed to win any of his 13 matches in charge.
The 50-year-old, who also coached extensively in his homeland, including six years at Treviso, will arrive in Glasgow later this month, just prior to Warriors’ opening pre-season friendly against Worcester in Inverness on September 2. And he has vowed to produce a style of rugby that will deliver results while entertaining supporters.
‘I have followed Glasgow for a long time, since coaching at Benetton when they joined the Pro12 in 2010, and the way they play has always appealed to me because their style is embraced by the fans,’ said the former Springbok.
‘In coaching, I always have these objectives: to play a winning brand of rugby; to have a style that is good to watch and that the fans can associate with — it is the Warrior Nation’s team, and our responsibility through the coaches and players is to represent them.
‘There are also opportunities at Glasgow to contribute to the pathway for up-and-coming players, making sure we are developing creative, fit, and knowledgeable rugby players from a young age that we will bring all the way through to Scotland.
‘I am looking forward to joining the club and getting to know the coaching staff and players as we begin working together.’
Smith has a reputation as a tough taskmaster and that may well be required given some of the Scotstoun side’s ineffective performances last season, especially at the back end of the campaign when their form fell off a cliff.
His appointment represents a change of direction from recent Scottish Rugby policy after both Wilson and then Mike Blair at Edinburgh were appointed from within last summer.
Smith is a highly-respected coach and administrator with experience in both South African and Italian rugby but doesn’t arrive with an extensive knowledge of the Scottish game. But the former back, who won his first Springboks Test cap at Murrayfield in 1997, will rely heavily on guidance from his coaching staff — Nigel Carolan, Peter Murchie, Alasdair Dickinson, and Pete Horne — to keep him right in the early days, while also looking to lay down the law in the dressing room so that the players know they now answer to him.
He will also need to win over a sceptical section of the fanbase. It has been several years now since the Warriors were a club genuinely capable of winning trophies, and the influx of South African teams into the United Rugby Championship (URC) has made it even harder to remain competitive at the sharp end. Throw in the fact that there will be no Champions Cup rugby at Scotstoun for the first season since 2006 and it all adds to the impression that this is an organisation in a state of malaise.
That hasn’t stopped supporters hoping the good days could yet come back to Glasgow with the right man in place to steer the ship.
Some fans had hoped for a more high-profile appointment like Dean Richards or Todd Blackadder but Warriors’ managing director Al Kellock was happy to land Smith.
‘We are delighted to be signing a head coach with Franco’s club and international experience to lead our squad in the coming seasons,’ he said.
‘After an extensive search it was Franco’s depth of knowledge in the game and his experiences at professional club and international levels that stood out. Thank you to the Italian Rugby Federation for their willingness to make this appointment possible.
‘I know Franco will bring an exciting identity to our game based on high tempo and hard work, and he will bring the best out of the talented group of players we have at Scotstoun.
‘Franco is also known for developing players from a young age and, with five recent graduates from the FOSROC Academy and a number close behind, growing these players remains a key focus for the club.’
Scottish Rugby CEO Mark Dodson added: ‘I would like to join Al in welcoming Franco to Scotland and Glasgow Warriors.
‘Throughout our recruitment process, Franco stood out as a strong technical coach who wants to play positive rugby, which fits with the DNA of Glasgow Warriors and how we want to develop our squad, especially the exciting group of younger players at Scotstoun.
‘Across the game, people we consulted spoke very highly of Franco as a coach and a person and we look forward to him taking Glasgow Warriors forward in the coming seasons.’