McGeechan set for seventh Lions stint

12 April 2012

Ian McGeechan is expected to be confirmed as head coach of the 2009 British and Irish Lions on Wednesday morning.

The Wasps director of rugby is the cast-iron favourite to lead the Lions' assault on South Africa and attempt to repeat his famous 1997 victory over the world champions, with Wales coaching duo Warren Gatland and Shaun Edwards tipped to be named assistant coaches.

Former Lions player Jason Robinson believes the trio would make a coaching dream-team in South Africa next summer, saying: "'Geech' has got the passion. You can't play this game without passion."

He added: "He really got me going. I didn't know anything about the Lions when I came to rugby union. I played for the Lions in rugby league but it is nothing like it.

"It is such a special occasion. To have someone like him speaking with such authority and passion really got me going.

"Shaun has done exceptionally well in a short space of time with Warren and with Geech. The coaches have to get on and if you have three people who already have that bond it will make it much easier."

Gatland and Edwards formed a close friendship working together at Wasps and this year made an immediate impact in Wales by winning the Grand Slam.

McGeechan replaced Gatland at Wasps and has forged his own effective working relationship with Edwards.

McGeechan, 61, is synonymous with the unique Lions concept having been involved in a record six tours as a player (1974, 1977), assistant coach (2005) and head coach (1987, 1993, 1997).

And McGeechan has been backed to restore the special Lions aura, something former captain Gavin Hastings believes was tarnished by the 2005 tour to New Zealand.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in