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Franco Smith 'unable to fly to South Africa' Glasgow confirm

By PA
(Photo by Silvia Lore/Getty Images)

Glasgow have announced that head coach Franco Smith has been unable to return to his native South Africa because of visa delays.

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The former South Africa international will miss their game against Cell C Sharks on Saturday.

Smith worked in the country as recently as 2019 before leaving to take charge of Italy following a four-year spell coaching Cheetahs.

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Warriors said in a statement: “Franco Smith has been unable to fly to South Africa for this weekend’s game due to visa delays. He will join up with the squad at the earliest possible opportunity.

“Attack coach Nigel Carolan will take responsibility on the ground in South Africa for (Saturday’s) game.”

The rest of the Warriors party flew out on Tuesday with a 36-man squad for the BKT United Rugby Championship double header against the Sharks and Emirates Lions.

Full-back Ollie Smith will make his first appearance of the season in Durban following injury while fly-half Ross Thompson could do the same from the bench.

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Head coach Smith has made four changes with hooker George Turner, flanker Sintu Manjezi and scrum-half Ali Price promoted to the starting line-up.

Oli Kebble is back on the bench but Jack Dempsey is still missing with a rib injury despite travelling, and Jamie Dobie is still waiting for his comeback from a hamstring injury.

GLASGOW WARRIORS:
1. Jamie Bhatti
2. George Turner
3. Zander Fagerson
4. Sintu Manjezi
5. Richie Gray
6. Scott Cummings
7. Thomas Gordon
8. Matt Fagerson
9. Ali Price
10. Tom Jordan
11. Josh McKay
12. Sam Johnson
13. Sione Tuipulotu (C)
14. Sebastian Cancelliere
15. Ollie Smith

REPLACEMENTS:
16. Fraser Brown
17. Oli Kebble
18. Murphy Walker
19. JP du Preez
20. Ryan Wilson
21. Gregor Brown
22. George Horne
23. Ross Thompson

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Bull Shark 1 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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