'You’re going to make me tearful': Franco Smith opens up on harsh reality

SPOTLIGHT: Glasgow Warriors head coach Franco Smith admits he will have to make do with a smaller squad next season.

The defending URC champions will be saying goodbye to some of their heroes at the end of the current season and Smith revealed that they don’t have the funds to replace them.

South African loose forward Henco Venter will join Brive, while Tom Jordan will head to Bristol.

No.8 Jack Mann is also set to leave the club and earlier this week it was revealed that defence coach Pete Murchie will be “heading overseas”.

There is also uncertainty surrounding stalwarts like Matt Fagerson, Josh McKay, Kyle Rowe and Sebastian Cancelliere. Their contracts will be expiring at the end of the season.

“You’re going to make me tearful here!” said Smith.

“It’s sad [when players and staff leave] but also a huge compliment to everybody that’s worked hard to give other people an opportunity to become better versions of themselves and maybe sign a bigger contract.

“We must be proud of ourselves for that.

“If other opportunities arise for them, then fantastic. We must feel part of that contribution that we’ve given to them. That’s part of the game.

“Currently our squad, due to budget size, is going to be smaller next year.

“Even if we find the right people to replace them, it’s whether we can afford them that’s the biggest problem.”

Smith added: “It’s not a smaller budget. It’s the same budget. The players’ value has just gone up so much that it becomes more and more difficult to keep everybody within that.

“We’ve got the squad reasonably decided for next year.

“Some people accepted the offers that we could give them and some got better offers. That’s basically what the situation is.”

Source: The Daily Mail