THE SCOTSMAN REPORTS

McGeechan's words belie frustration of failure on final tour

David Ferguson


WHEN rogue emails started to appear during the Lions tour featuring a shirt badge with the thistle removed, no-one could deny that the level of Scottish representation in Sir Clive Woodward's squad had become a joke.

For that, Ian McGeechan has much to answer for. He was criticised for his decision to take time off from his role as the SRU's director of rugby to be part of the Lions campaign during what was a crisis in the sport in Scotland. His response was that he had to ensure there would be some Scottish influence on the tour. But more brickbats were hurled in his direction when he announced in April that he was taking up a new job as director of rugby at Wasps, quitting the Scottish scene altogether.

Did this man really have Scots interests at heart? He was asked by Clive Woodward to be the head coach of the midweek team to ensure they had a strong, knowledgeable leader, and that choice has been one of Woodward's few successes. And yet McGeechan failed to have the number of Scots he wished included on the tour and has watched three Lions Test teams start without any Scots for the first time ever.

McGeechan rarely criticises others, but his body language said more about his frustrations than anything he felt able to put on the record as we discussed the tour in his Auckland hotel. He was less circumspect than usual and, insisting that he would be deeply unhappy if Scottish rugby was not to benefit from this tour, picked out selections and elements of the tour which clearly he fought against.

He said: "It is hugely important to me that Scottish rugby benefits from the Lions tour - we always should. I will meet with coaches and Richie Dixon at some point in July/August and sit down and fully review what the coaching team have learned down here.

"Of course I was disappointed when Scots like Chris Paterson, Jason White and Tom Smith, in particular, were not selected - we suffered from the fact that our better players were in positions with strong elements across all four countries - but Chris Cusiter will come back with a great education from what he has seen of other British players and New Zealanders, which he could only understand fully from being a player on this tour.

"Both he and Gordon Bulloch have really pushed themselves and earned a lot of respect. They have both been talked about a lot by coaches and senior players here and it is disappointing they did not get the Test starts they wanted.

"What I believe most in is how Scottish rugby learns lessons and moves on from another big Lions tour. Scots are innovative people and want to move on and we always have after Lions tours - look at what happened after the 1983 tour, even though it wasn't a success for the Lions, and after the 1989 tour: two Grand Slams.

"I'm not saying that will happen just like that again, but what I am saying is Scottish rugby can learn from the lessons of the Lions coming up against New Zealand again and being beaten. We need to look at the systems and programmes we have right through the game, from clubs to Test level, and really challenge our players and coaches so that we don't see another Lions tour with so few Scottish players involved."

Beyond selection, I was also keen to quiz McGeechan on the style of play of the Lions. Surely, a man who uncovered an exciting way to win in South Africa could not have agreed to a Woodward-style of game which lacked creativity in New Zealand?

McGeechan sighed. "My role was different on this tour to others, and all I said to Clive was he would get my analysis and opinions and I have given him those. If he takes everything on board and then makes his own decision then you accept that.

"It's a bit like the selection. You can't start saying 'I would have done this differently', or 'I don't agree with that', because the Lions is a collective thing. I had to take responsibility when I was head coach and when it goes right you take the plaudits and when it does not you take the knocks, but, for the sake of British and Irish rugby, you have to work together and support each other."

It is possible that McGeechan did not previously appreciate the coaching limitations of Woodward and has perhaps been surprised by what he has witnessed on this tour. He has played his own part well, but it must rankle that his third Lions tour in New Zealand - as coach and player - has again ended in defeat.

"The Lions failed - that's the hard fact," he said. "But you also have to recognise that everything is stacked against the Lions. We're trying to bring four countries together in a short period of time and it's very easy for that not to gel.

"Some of our players in this last week have really started to come together on the field, but we ran out of time. Our preference would have been to have had a week in the UK with the squad together not worrying about a game. Because of economics, we had a game against Argentina and that forced us to prepare instead for a Test match rather than simply use the week for the whole squad to get to know each other before leaving.

"I would also have preferred us to be in New Zealand for two weeks of preparation with two more games than we had here - that would have made a big difference. I would have preferred having all the coaches together more on the field. That was difficult, though, because of the way the games were set up."

Perhaps most tellingly, he added: "I would never accept that the All Blacks were just too good for us and nothing we could have done would have been successful.

"We lost some huge players to the northern hemisphere game in the last year - Martin Johnson for instance, and Lawrence Dallaglio and Richard Hill on this tour. And Brian O'Driscoll. You need these sorts of players in a Test series like this.

"But the Lions is about taking a snapshot of rugby for one, brief period. Whenever you do a Lions preparation, it's where you are at that particular point and what you think as a coach will work. Clive took a snapshot view of 'this is the way I think is the best preparation to beat the All Blacks', and that's what he got the backing for. The next Lions coach will take his own view.

"If the answer was easy everyone would be doing the same thing, but it isn't because things like injuries, how serious they are and when they occur; players' form and ability to gel, are all things you can't control.

"But the atmosphere on this tour has been outstanding. I looked around at the players after my final midweek game, against Auckland, and it reminded me why I want to be a rugby coach in a tracksuit, which is why I'm joining Wasps and no longer going to work in a suit.

"I don't see my being involved again. I think this is it for me and I will look back on six wonderful tours, lots of highs and lows, but great enjoyment."

This article was posted on 12-Jul-2005, 08:13 by Hugh Barrow.