KYLE STEYN will captain Glasgow Warriors next season, with new head coach Franco
Smith wasting no time in
putting his stamp on the side following his appointment as Danny Wilson’s replacement at the start of August.
In recent years, the side has been jointly led by veteran forwards Ryan Wilson and Fraser Brown, while Steyn – who was born and raised in South Africa but qualifies to play for Scotland through his Glaswegian mother – is still in his mid-20s, is an outside back and has only been on the books at the club since 2019.
“First of all, Kyle has shown consistency in the way he plays, and he’s a real club man,” Smith said. “The way he’s perceived off the field, he has a huge amount of respect from the players, and he’s a person that symbolises the character of what we expect from a Glasgow Warrior.
“He trains and works hard, and his off-field activities are aligned with the future and what we want from the club.
“Obviously we have older
players like Ryan Wilson, Fraser Brown and Richie Gray, and we’re going to use their
influence as a point of reference in a different way.”
Smith also revealed that he and Steyn’s paths had prev-
iously crossed back in South Africa, although that was not a factor in this appointment.
“His dad was the Springbok
security officer when I was playing back in the day, but I never knew Kyle was his son until this week,” he said. “And I also coached against him when he was at the Griquas back in South Africa, but I only got to know him as a person when I arrived here.”
Steyn added: “The goal is to win the URC. That might sound ridiculous to some, but that’s the kind of tone that we need. We know it’s not going to be an easy road to get there, but I truly believe that this group of players is capable of doing something special.”
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