Glasgow Warriors coach has his say on Edinburgh upgrade, David Nucifora and URC ‘surprise package’
Franco Smith anticipates keenly fought festive derbies
Franco Smith, the Glasgow Warriors head coach, believes Edinburgh have “added value” over the summer and expects the inter-city matches between the sides to be fiercely contested in the new campaign.
Glasgow were top dogs last season, winning the BKT United Rugby Championship after finishing fourth in the regular league and then beating the Stormers, Munster and Bulls in the play-offs in what was a stunning triumph. Edinburgh, meanwhile, languished in tenth place, missing out on the play-offs.
However, the spoils were shared in the matches between the two Scottish sides with each winning their home games. Glasgow retained the 1872 Cup on aggregate and Smith expects the games to be close again this year.
Edinburgh have beefed up their squad and also appointed Scott Mathie as their new attack and backs coach. The South African has arrived from New England Free Jacks whom he guided to two Major League Rugby titles as head coach. He will work alongside Edinburgh boss Sean Everitt as the club seeks more of a cutting edge in attack.
While they lost experienced forwards WP Nel (to retirement) and Viliame Mata (to Bristol Bears), Edinburgh have strengthened by bringing in prop Paul Hill from Northampton Saints back-rower Magnus Bradbury from Bristol, stand-off Ross Thompson from Glasgow, wing Ross McCann from the GB Sevens programme and centres Mosese Tuipulotu and Matt Scott from NSW Waratahs and Leicester Tigers, respectively.
“Obviously, I think they're a quality outfit, a quality squad, a good coaching group,” Smith said. “They've added some good value to it. We expect them to be as good as ever. They've got a quality outfit there. It's going to be tough, the derbies over Christmas.”
Smith, speaking at a BKT URC media round table, also offered his thoughts on David Nucifora’s appointment by Scottish Rugby in a “performance advisory role”. Nucifora spent 10 years as performance director for Irish Rugby and Smith crossed paths with him while holding a similar role with the Italian rugby federation.
“Obviously, when I was performance director with the Italian federation we had a lot to do with each other and spoke often,” Smith said. “We share similar ideas from that perspective. I've had a meeting with him just to explain where we're about and what we're trying to do here. I think his focus will lean more to the rest of Scotland's player pathway. I can't foresee immediate change to what should be done at our level, but he’s definitely going to influence the pathway as soon as possible, I believe.”
Glasgow’s pre-season form has been poor, with Smith’s side losing to both Zebre and Connacht. They open their URC campaign away at Ulster a week on Saturday and the Warriors coach expects threats to come from across the league. Asked whom he thought might be a surprise package, Smith opted for a Welsh challenger.
“Having been in this competition for years I’ve got a lot of respect for all the teams,” he said. “We don’t want to look further than Ulster but I do feel teams like Connacht and Zebre, who we’ve played, are well organised and I feel Cardiff might be the team that surprises this year.”
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