Smith will never forget debut in front of commentary great
FRANCO SMITH’S pleasure was Scottish rugby’s pain when the two first crossed paths a quarter of a century ago. And the new Glasgow head coach revealed last week that his joy back on that day in 1997 – when he made his debut for South Africa at Murrayfield – was enhanced all the more by the fact that Bill McLaren was the match commentator.
The match in question was embarrassingly one-sided: a record 68-10 humiliation of the home team by the then world champions. Smith came off the bench in the first half and scored a try in the second – memories which he has relived countless times since thanks to a recording of the match, with the legendary Scot providing the voiceover.
“It was a fantastic period of my rugby career – and even more special when Bill McLaren was commentating on it,” Smith recalled. “I really enjoyed that game specifically, and it was an important part of South African rugby and I’m proud to have been a part of it.
“I scored a try in that game and sometimes when you need a bit of inspiration and you’ve gone through troubled times in your own career then it’s good to look for something to just give you that little bit of a push and that motivation again. That was one of the moments that I’ll always cherish and remember.
“As a young kid we were excluded from world rugby at that stage,” he continued, referring to the isolation of apartheid-era South Africa that only ended in 1994. “All the Five Nations games were broadcast in South Africa and it was always good to hear these type of voices on the television. To then score a try when Bill was commentating was special.”
Smith is now 50, so that game was half a lifetime ago for him. Just approaching his peak as a player, he had no serious thoughts then about coming a coach, and certainly did not expect that he would one day end up coaching in Scotland. But, after six years in charge of URC club Benetton, a couple as Italy’s head coach and a shorter spell as the Italian federation’s head of high performance, here he is: the man assigned the unenviable task of reviving the Warriors’ fortunes and restoring them to something like the status they enjoyed under Gregor Townsend.
The Scotland coach was Smith’s opposite number in 1997, and that first meeting was the beginning of a lasting friendship – something that should certainly stand the newcomer in good stead as he tries to get to grips with the Glasgow gig.
“Gregor and I have competed a lot,” Smith said. “He was the fly-half in that game I played in, and since then we’ve followed each other’s career. We’ve got friendly with each other over the years at all those events where we got to meet each other. We’ve kept in contact.
“I followed him when he was at Glasgow. We have similar styles. He’s done a great job here in Scotland – I think he brought a very important mindset to what Scottish rugby is about. If we have only two franchises, like in Italy, it’s very important to have a brand and a style which everybody enjoys and buys into. And I think he’s done an excellent job in that regard.”
Townsend’s excellent job at Glasgow culminated in their winning the PRO12 title in 2015, but the subsequent seven years have not been kind to them. They did reach the PRO14 final in 2019, though in retrospect that achievement may feel like little more than a speed bump on a downslope.
Leinster got the better of the Warriors in that final at Celtic Park three years ago, and the Dublin side have been the dominant force in the league for some time now. And while they remain formidable opponents, the URC is more competitive than ever now that four South African sides have joined in.
Having been at Benetton for six years up to 2013 and retained a professional interest thereafter in the United Rugby Championship, keeping a particularly keen eye on those South African sides, Smith is well aware of how difficult it will be for Glasgow to get back to the level they were once at.
“We talk about Leinster – that’s still this side of the Equator,” he added. “We have four very difficult sides [in South Africa] that we have to go and play against.
“It’s going to be very tough. I realise that. Therefore a bit of patience from everybody here will be important. We need to make a big step up physically and mentally.”
As a young kid we were excluded from world rugby at that stage. To then score a try when Bill was commentating was special