Scotland forward on his debt to Franco Smith and 'dream' of playing with cousin Kinghorn

Scotland forward Gregor Brown says Franco Smith would be a huge loss to Glasgow Warriors if the South African decides to leave his post as head coach.

The former Springbok is a man in demand and is one of the favourites for the Wales job vacated last week by Warren Gatland. Smith has also been linked with Leicester Tigers following Michael Cheika’s decision to step down at the end of the season.

Speaking at the weekend, Smith did little to douse the Welsh speculation when he told Premier Sports he would “like to coach international rugby again”. The 52-year-old has had stints as head coach of Italy and as an assistant with South Africa and has burnished his reputation over the past two-and-a-half years at Glasgow whom he led to the United Rugby Championship title.

Scotland's Gregor Brown and cousin Blair Kinghorn after the Guinness Six Nations win over Italy. | SNS Group / SRU

He has done it while developing young talent and Brown has been one of the beneficiaries, forcing his way into the Warriors team and then winning international honours. The forward said he owes a debt of gratitude to Smith who has helped develop him into a versatile back-five forward.

“Lucky enough, I was still pretty young when he first came in at Glasgow,” said Brown. “On a personal level, I definitely owe a lot to him. He pushes hard, he's got such a huge energy for rugby. He's so enthusiastic about what he does.

“He's definitely pushed me over the past few years to develop my game in different areas. He saw me as an option to play in the second row. Previously, it was just about being an out-and-out back row.

“From a team point of view, having taken us to the URC final and obviously winning it, he has been huge in pushing a lot of the boys' mental boundaries.”

Brown, 23, who has come off the bench in Scotland’s opening two Six Nations games against Italy and Ireland, says he is not surprised to see Smith being linked with other jobs.

“Him coming in and us winning the URC, for a coach to do that, there's always going to be interest elsewhere,” said Brown. “Obviously it comes down to his personal decisions, but I know for a lot of boys at Glasgow, all of us, he'd be a big loss. But I think we can all respect his personal decisions and his career.”

Glasgow Warriors head coach Franco Smith shakes hands with Gregor Brown. | SNS Group

Brown, meanwhile, has admitted that playing for Scotland alongside his cousin Blair Kinghorn has been “a dream”. The pair’s mothers are sisters and Brown had always looked up to Kinghorn growing up. He remembers watching the latter come off the bench to make his debut in the 2018 Calcutta Cup win at Murrayfield and now has the chance to line up beside him at Twickenham this Saturday.

“Blair’s someone I’ve looked up to for a long time,” said Brown, who is five years younger than Kinghorn. “I was still at school when he started playing for Edinburgh and then watching him play for Scotland and going over to Toulouse to do such great things over there has been huge.

“It was always a dream to play with him for Scotland. I remember playing against him in the 1872 Cup (in May 2022), which was cool enough, but to play with him was such a huge thing for both of us and our families.

“It would be huge, again, for our families, playing together away in a Calcutta Cup, it would be unreal.”