{"id":54834,"date":"2026-04-03T09:57:22","date_gmt":"2026-04-03T09:57:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/?p=54834"},"modified":"2026-04-03T09:57:22","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T09:57:22","slug":"franco-smith-next-in-line-for-scotland-head-coaching-job","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/2026\/04\/03\/franco-smith-next-in-line-for-scotland-head-coaching-job\/","title":{"rendered":"Franco Smith next in line for Scotland head coaching job?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\" async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- Africa tv video display -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"3579572842\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\">\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Former <strong>South Africa<\/strong> flyhalf <strong>Franco Smith\u2019s<\/strong> record at <strong>Glasgow Warriors<\/strong> has boosted his credentials amid rumours he could be in line for the <strong>Scotland <\/strong>head coach job.<\/p>\n<p>On Saturday, Smith will lead Glasgow in the Champions Cup last 16 against his former outfit the <strong>Bulls<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-frontrunner-to-replace-gregor-townsend\"><strong>Frontrunner to replace Gregor Townsend<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Franco Smith arrived at the Scottish club in 2022 and has led them to a United Rugby Championship (URC) crown, a Challenge Cup final and now the continental top tier\u2019s knock-out stages.<\/p>\n<p>The 53-year-old\u2019s ability to bring success to Scotstoun Stadium has catapulted him to the frontrunner to replace Gregor Townsend after the 2027 Rugby World Cup, with the former Glasgow boss linked with the job at Newcastle Red Bulls.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s a guy that has got Glasgow absolutely flying, but has found a way to get physical performances out of a Glasgow Warriors side as well, which is maybe the thing people would argue is lacking at international level with Scotland,\u201d former Glasgow and Scotland back-rower Johnnie Beattie told AFP.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs a Scottish rugby fan or as a former Glasgow Warriors player or a Glasgow Warriors supporter now, this is probably the best rugby that the city of Glasgow has produced in the professional era.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf Gregor is to go off to Newcastle Red Bulls come the end of the World Cup in 2027, Franco Smith would be the clear favourite for the job from everyone in Scotland,\u201d Beattie added.<\/p>\n<p>Smith\u2019s journey to western Scotland included six years coaching at Italians Treviso, sandwiched between spells at the Free State Cheetahs after a playing career in South Africa, Wales and Italy, as well as nine Springboks Tests.<\/p>\n<p>He returned to Italy in 2019 as the Azzurri\u2019s head coach, helping to set the foundations for their recent upturn in fortune under Gonzalo Quesada.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-attractive\"><strong>\u2018Attractive\u2019<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>\u201cFranco\u2019s a world-class coach,\u201d former Italy and Treviso lock Dean Budd told AFP.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve always held him in very high regard in that manner, his technical aptitude is second to none, he understands the game so incredibly well.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy reservations early on were how his style matched the Italian style of a little bit more relaxed approach to things.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI would say he took some really good learnings away from having to leave Italy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s very to the point in his approach and was received well by some and not always by others,\u201d New Zealand-born Budd added.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-a-team-low-on-confidence\"><strong>A team low on confidence<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Franco Smith headed to Glasgow to a team low on confidence after they finished eighth in the league the previous season \u2013 their lowest league position since 2010\/11.<\/p>\n<p>Beattie, who spent eight seasons at the club before spells at French sides Montpellier, Castres and Bayonne, was an unofficial part of the recruitment process.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGlasgow had asked me to ask a few people that I was playing with what he\u2019d been like as a coach,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI played with quite a few of the Cheetahs players so I picked their brains and they all came back with overwhelmingly positive feedback.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s pretty rare nowadays with coaches, to be honest.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSomebody\u2019s always had a negative experience or has something bad to say in passing, but with Franco, the feedback was overwhelmingly good,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-top-of-the-urc-table\"><strong>Top of the URC table<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>This season, Franco Smith\u2019s Warriors top the URC table and are the league\u2019s joint-leading try scorers, alongside the Bulls.<\/p>\n<p>They reached the Champions Cup last 16 as second seeds with a perfect run in the pool stages, which included a statement victory over record six-time winners Toulouse.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s an attractive brand of rugby that is fun to watch and follow, but it\u2019s also winning rugby,\u201d Beattie said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat would be down to his coaching style, his influence on the players, the structures and the templates that he\u2019s put on that squad.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAll those things point in the direction of an incredibly, incredibly smart coach who is doing a wonderful job,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-factfile-franco-smith\"><strong>Factfile: Franco Smith<\/strong><\/h3>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\">\n<table class=\"has-fixed-layout\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Full names: Petrus Francois Smith<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Date of birth: 29 July 1972<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Place of birth:\u00a0Lichtenburg<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>School:\u00a0Sand du Plessis<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Springbok #643<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Physical: 1.82m, 88.9kg<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Current age: 53<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\">\n<table class=\"has-fixed-layout\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Test summary:\u00a0<\/strong>Tests: 9\u00a0Tries: 2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>First Test:\u00a06 December 1997 \u2013 Reserve against Scotland at Murrayfield, Edinburgh<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Last Test:\u00a07 August 1999 \u2013 Inside centre against New Zealand at Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/figure>\n<p>By Garrin Lambley \u00a9 Agence France-Presse<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\" async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- Africa tv video display -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"3579572842\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\">\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n#Franco #Smith #line #Scotland #coaching #job<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Former South Africa flyhalf Franco Smith\u2019s record at Glasgow Warriors has boosted his credentials amid rumours he could be in&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":54835,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-54834","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mzansi"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54834","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54834"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54834\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":54836,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54834\/revisions\/54836"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/54835"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54834"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54834"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54834"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}