Bullish Franco Smith takes aim at Glasgow Warriors 'fluke' claims and URC predictions

Glasgow Warriors will play their first match as URC champions when they take on Ulster in Belfast on Saturday night, but head coach Franco Smith believes the Scotstoun club have not been afforded the respect they deserve for what they achieved last season.

Smith has accused people of dismissing their success as “a fluke” and “underwhelming” and has queried why they have not been tipped by pundits to triumph again this time around.

Glasgow had to go to South Africa and beat the Bulls at altitude in their own backyard in last season’s Grand Final, having already beaten Munster away in the semis and former winners the Stormers in the quarter-finals.

Despite this triumph against the odds, Smith feels that not everyone thinks it was merited and will use it as motivation for his squad for the new campaign. He has told his players to forget about last season and concentrate instead on winning the title afresh, rather than defending it.

Glasgow Warriors head coach Franco Smith lifts the URC trophy alongside Kyle Steyn. | SNS Group

“The message [to the squad] was clear, we don't speak about what happened last year anymore,” he said. “It's gone, it has no relevance. We still don't think we are respected as one of the probable winners this year. If I look at all the predictions, it looks like we are not in contention. Leinster is out there again winning it.

“We are focused on improving, getting better, establishing ourselves in this year's competition. We are, from our perspective, not defending it. We will have to conquer it again. The more we speak of defending it, the more we talk about last season, it becomes a ball and chain and that will force the ship to sink. We are cutting ourselves loose from last season. We appreciated the effort and the pride that came with it. But that's that now. We are going on to the next challenge.”

Glasgow finished fourth in the regular URC season and won all their home matches across the campaign. But it was the way they raised their game in the play-offs, particularly in the semi-final at Thomond Park and the final at Loftus Versfeld, that made their achievement so significant.

“I think we earned the respect, but I don't think everybody thinks that it was merited,” continued Smith. “Some people think the Bulls lost it at Loftus instead of us winning it. I think we proved ourselves against Munster and [across] the whole season. Statistically, we were in the top two or top three in every category, except maybe for a number of kicks in the game. We really proved our worth.

Warriors won the URC away in South Africa. | SNS Group

“People think that was a fluke. That we were lucky. People mentioned that we might have felt that it was underwhelming festivities. That doesn't matter to us at all. The fact of the matter is that we will have to, to ourselves, again prove that we can make a step up and play the game even better.

“It’s not about what people think, it's not how much respect, or lack of respect, there is. It's about rolling out an even better product this year. That puts pressure back onto me and the coaching group. But we're ready to embrace that challenge.”

Glasgow will give a debut to Australian international prop Sam Talakai against Ulster at Kingspan Stadium on Saturday night.