Who is Glasgow Warriors SA coach Franco Smith?
Who is Glasgow Warriors SA coach Franco Smith?
Former Springbok centre Franco Smith has made a successful transition into coaching and currently helms a team in the United Rugby Championship.
Smith is the brains behind the Glasgow Warriors amazing success this season.
He coached the Cheetahs in South Africa before moving abroad for a short stint as the Italy national team coach.
Franco Smith turns the Warriors into winners
Smith was appointed as Glasgow Warriors head coach in August 2022.
He has made steady progress with the team and they stand out as the best side in the Italian and Scottish shield.
The Warriors look set for a top-four finish in this season’s URC and are also a team well set up for future success.
Smith’s direction has instilled great confidence in the Warriors as an organisation and seen them retain their star players, something they had found challenging in the past.
The Scottish connection
Smith has coincidental links to the game in Scotland after making his Springbok debut in the country.
He played his first Springbok Test at Murrayfield in 1999 and got on the scoresheet with a try as South Africa won the match.
During his playing career, he turned out for Free State Cheetahs, Griquas, Blue Bulls, and The Pumas in South Africa, as well as Newport, Bologna, and Benetton Treviso in Europe.
Soon after retiring, Smith began working in coaching, initially with the Free State Cheetahs as their backs coach. In 2007, he returned to Italy to take over as Benetton’s head coach. Before the team joined the PRO12 (Now the URC), he won two National Championship of Excellence titles with Treviso.
In addition to spending time as South Africa’s assistant coach in 2017 and 2018, he returned to the Cheetahs in 2014 and guided them to two Currie Cup championships in 2016 and 2019.
As the head coach of the Italian men’s national team, he was in charge of developing a lot of potential and handing first caps to several current stars, which included Paolo Garbisi, a gifted playmaker, and Michele Lamaro, the captain of the squad right now.
A glowing reference for Franco Smith
Warriors star Sione Tuipulotu has praised Smith as a man of faith and integrity.
“He’s a very religious man, and everything is underpinned by God,” Tuipulotu said.
“That’s something that I relate to. He stands by what he says, and when you have a coach like that, it creates an environment where people listen and they follow.
“There’s no deviation from the plan. He says what is going to happen and we all march towards that plan.
“He’s brought that in – authority and discipline.
He also said: “He doesn’t want plaudits from the media, he’s quite a private guy, and he wants it to be about the team.”