It’s the start of another season and I reckon it’s going to be a massive one for both Franco Smith and Sean Everitt – but for hugely different reasons.

Everyone knows what a brilliant job Franco has done at Glasgow over the last four years, winning the United Rugby Championship (URC), reaching a European final and getting the team playing a brand of rugby that’s always entertaining to watch.

He’s also had to deal with a steady flow of big names heading out the door at Scotstoun and it’s been a similar story this summer with six internationals moving on.

I think the loss of Jack Dempsey, in particular, will be a tough one to swallow as he’s a hard man to replace. The work that he got through was unbelievable. He was like a big wrecking ball whenever he carried. And Sione Vailanu, even though he was injured a lot, was another in a similar boat and someone who’s also left.

They’ve brought in Jamie Ritchie who’s a brilliant leader, a great guy to have around and an unbelievable fetcher of the ball, but he’s not an out-and-out ball carrier. So, they’re going to need Gregor Brown – who’s proving to be versatile in a number of roles – and the new man Ruwald van der Merwe to step up and fill that hole left by Dempsey.

Franco has also helped bring through this constant conveyor belt of talent from the Warriors academy all the way to the first team and with many of them then going on to play for Scotland. It’s incredible, actually, how my old club have been able to integrate all these young guys into the squad and still compete for honours on two fronts.

Glasgow Warriors head coach Franco Smith is widely expected to be next Scotland manager

You assume that it will have to take its toll eventually but we saw again last season that they went deep in both the URC and the Champions Cup. And when they look back on that defeat to the Bulls at Murrayfield in the URC semi-final especially, there will be nagging regrets that they didn’t get through that one as it was all there for them.

Repeating the trick again this year might be difficult. So, I think this is a huge season for Franco. This could potentially show how good a coach he is because of what he’s having to deal with, with experienced players leaving and younger ones taking their place.

And I reckon if Glasgow can make the top four again in the URC and play a lot of the youngsters that I think will play, then I think it’s a successful season. It’s going to be difficult to top the highs of last season but I’m sure they’ll give it a decent crack.

They’ve got Irish teams up first, starting with Munster away tomorrow evening, which is never an easy one. So, it’s definitely going to be interesting.

A lot of people are now expecting Franco will take over from Gregor Townsend as Scotland head coach after the World Cup so in a way this year is almost like another audition for that. I’ve always felt that, when Gregor goes, Franco should be the one to step in.

It could be a really smart move because you look at these young guys coming through at Glasgow and they are all going to be future Scotland stars. And Franco’s going to know them inside out because he’s the one that’s brought them through the academy.

Glasgow’s semi-final defeat to the Bulls at Murrayfield last season will have left mental scars

You then start to see what they’re trying to do, what David Nucifora’s doing as performance director and with big Al Kellock moving into a similar role with the pathways.

If you can have a coach who is bringing through academy graduates, who knows them inside out, has his philosophy embedded in them and he then becomes Scotland coach in two or three years’ time, then it makes sense.

So, it could be a clever play. Whether they meant to do it this way, I don’t know. But I think it is a big year for Franco on that front – although I reckon he’s already done enough to show he deserves a shot at that job.

Across in Edinburgh, it’s a whole different story. Sean has stayed as head coach but they’ve completely overhauled his backroom team and brought in a load of new players too. And now it needs to work.

They finished 12th last year so reaching the URC playoffs and doing well in the Challenge Cup have to be the minimum requirements from them this year. Or there will need to be serious conversations had around Sean and his future.

We know that there’s a whole new coaching staff, there’s a new philosophy. They want to be fast in attack and defence. And, usually, you’d have a bit of a bedding-in period and people would give you some leeway. But I don’t think Edinburgh have got that because there’s frustration there about how the last few seasons have gone.

I think they’ve got to hit the ground running. They’ve been hampered again by a load of injuries. Darcy Graham being out until Christmas is a massive blow, as is losing Grant Gilchrist and Duhan van der Merwe for a while. So, that never helps.

Ryan Wilson and Simon Zebo will aim to bring entertainment to Premier Sportss URC coverage

But they simply cannot be 12th again, so it’s going to be a big year for Sean. I think he’s a great man and, by all accounts, all the boys love him. But you need results, don’t you? That’s what keeps you in a job.

I’m just excited that I’m getting to cover it all again for Premier Sports. I’m down in Munster this weekend and I always get a warm welcome when I go there.

We’ve been chatting with Premier and trying to see what we can do differently this season. You look at the way the league is, it’s an exciting brand of rugby that’s been put on the field. I think it’s seven tries a game on average, which is crazy.

So, we’ll try and do a few more different bits this season to reflect that and see where it goes. And we’ll have some more fun with it, too, I’m sure!

Ryan Wilson is part of the Premier Sports team bringing every game live from the BKT United Rugby Championship. A home for elite club rugby across the UK, Premier Sports hosts more than 400 live fixtures every season including URC, Investec Champions Cup, EPCR Challenge Cup, Top 14, Japan League One and will be showing the Rugby League World Cup this October. To join in visit www.premiersports.com

Ryan will be part of the Premier Sports team in Thomond Park on Saturday for Munster v Glasgow Warriors alongside Ross Harries, Simon Zebo, Darren Cave, Ryle Nugent and Paul Marshall.