Treviso Head Coach Franco Smith

I know incredibly little about this guy aside from the fact that he got a few caps for South Africa in late 1990's. Has he ever been head coach of any other big clubs? The only place I can see him listed as head coach is Treviso. He's doing an amazing job at Treviso who are now 7th in the Rabo and improving every season.

Would it be fair to say that he is the most under rated coach in the Rabo and Europe considering you never hear him mentioned? I didn't even know who Treviso's head coach was until I started googling it when it occurred to me that the guy is almost anonymous. With the resources he has at Treviso he has produced an amazing little outfit...who with a mid table finish this season might even start looking at making the playoff's in the coming seasons. The only wiki page on him isn't in English......

Who is Franco Smith??

He used to play for Newport around the turn of the century. Part of the 'bok and amber' mob!

To be honest the middle of the table are getting quite strong, Terviso and Connacht are all improving year on year, Edinburgh should do better as well.

If Connacht had beat Ulster this weekend they may have been able to overtake munster for the 3rd H-cup spot!

Treviso are 7 points behind Munster with a game in hand, meaning they could still finish as high as 6th. If they get a BP win over Connacht in the rearranged game, them would only be 2 points behind Munster, however Munster are at away to Zebre while Treviso travel to Scarlets, so I think the upset is unlikily.

Treviso V Connacht game should be good at eh weekend with no other rugby, will go a longway to decide who finishes 7th (or top of the 'second' table)

Good point OP! Treviso have come on brilliantly since joining the pro 12. Think of the scalps they've taken (and in H-cup) in recent seasons - not to mention the squeaky bum times they've provided in several matches where they've just lost out. Think they'll be featuring near the play-offs before long - and 2/3 years can see them in euro quarter finals (if there's still a competition).

They now have beaten every side in the pro 12 which is a tastament of their improvement, for me their 7th place is totally deserved as i think they really are the best of the "2nd division".

They have turned their home into a bit of a fortress. They are constantly causing upsets there.

But as good as they are at home they are terrible away and thats what is holding them back a lot.