Franco Smith has rued the lack of depth that Glasgow Warriors have in comparison to South African United Rugby Championship (URC) clubs.<\/p>\n
Speaking candidly after the Warriors<\/a>\u2018 52-14 defeat to the Lions at Ellis Park, Smith<\/a> said that it\u2019s difficult to manage his playing squad, which makes up the majority of the Scotland team.<\/p>\n Franco Smith\u2019s verdict on the loss to the Lions<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been 22 weeks of highly intense rugby,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s good to have several internationals in your team, but they don\u2019t rest in the Six Nations. 23 of them go on and play, and they come back with the mental demand being enormous for them.<\/p>\n \u201cFor the last couple of years, home or away is always difficult to manage until the play-offs.\u201d<\/p>\n However, the head coach offered a fascinating theory on what makes the South African teams so strong, citing the quality of players that the franchises have at their disposal.<\/p>\n While the Lions are riding high this season, ending the weekend in fourth position on the URC table, the Joburgers don\u2019t have many Springboks on their payroll. Scrum-half Morne van den Berg was a regular in Rassie Erasmus\u2019 squad last year, while prop Asenathi Ntlabakanye earned three Test caps. The likes of Ruan Venter and Quan Horn debuted for the Boks in 2024, but haven\u2019t added to their tallies since.<\/p>\n According to Smith, what makes the South African<\/a> teams so difficult to beat in the URC is the fact that they have so many players who are of international quality but aren\u2019t being selected by the national team, which means that they are more regularly available to their clubs.<\/p>\n Lions v Glasgow: Five takeaways as URC dark horse \u2018thrash\u2019 Warriors with Springboks hopeful \u2018laying down a marker\u2019 in statement victory<\/a><\/p>\n Good enough for the Springboks<\/p>\n \u201cFrancke Horn is playing some really good rugby at the moment, and Morne obviously at the base of the scrum is really good for South Africa, and he\u2019s so close,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cI think in general there\u2019s one or two players in the forward pack that maybe don\u2019t fit the size bill [for the Springboks], but they play some quality rugby, they are very good athletes, and they get around the park, and the brand that they play here suits them so well.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat makes the Lions a very good team, and it\u2019s the same with the Bulls and the Sharks, is that they have Springboks-like players, but they are not Springboks. They are the most valuable players, the guys that are good enough to be Springboks but they are not Springboks, and they make the difference at the club level.<\/p>\n \u201cSo our second choice international, in comparison to what South Africa\u2019s second choice international is\u2026 There is a difference in that with some players.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the strength for the Lions is that they\u2019ve got so many good players who are ready to play for South Africa, but they\u2019re not playing for South Africa, which makes them such a good club side.\u201d<\/p>\n Malcolm Marx scores to continue Springboks team-mate\u2019s side\u2019s drought while Dave Rennie gets one over ex-All Blacks coaches<\/a><\/p>\n Losing a lack of depth with foreign players departing<\/p>\n It\u2019s not the first time that Smith has rued the lack of depth at his disposal, as he was disappointed by the Scottish Rugby Union\u2019s decision not to extend the contract of loose forward Henco Venter.<\/p>\n The South African back-row wanted to remain at Glasgow but wasn\u2019t offered an extension as the union wanted to limit the number of foreign players in their two professional clubs.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is disappointing losing the foreign players here \u2013 they\u2019ve had value,\u201d he said in June.<\/p>\n \u201cOne, to help us win. It wasn\u2019t the main ingredient, but it is important to bring young players through. You can only put young players out on the pitch if your team is winning and there\u2019s not much pressure on them to make the side perform.\u201d<\/p>\n