I will put Wasps before Lions, says McGeechan

McGeechan has already been backed by Martin Johnson, the 1997 and 2001 Lions captain and another former skipper, Gavin Hastings, today added his voice to those saying his fellow Scot is the right man to erase the memories of Sir Clive Woodward's troubled 2005 tour to New Zealand.

But the 61-year-old coach has attempted to damp down the fires, saying: "It's not really for me to comment at the moment because it's only speculation and I don't know if it would be feasible because my job is here with London Wasps. The Lions will have their own ideas of what they want to do and playing the world champions is going to be a huge task.

"The tour will have three Tests and 10 matches, which is not going to make life any easier for the Lions, and at the moment I will stick to my job here."

But Hastings, part of the 1989 series-winning tour of Australia and captain on the 1993 tour to New Zealand, said: "Geech has an amazing capacity to bring out the best in players and it's been his greatest strength as a coach. He is able to engender a team spirit and common belief that gives a tour party the confidence that they can do great things against the odds and 1997 in South Africa was his greatest triumph.

"The Lions won that Test series because they refused to lie down against the Springboks and played for each other in every game. That was also the case in 1989 in Australia and four years later in New Zealand, when we were unlucky not to win that series."

McGeechan, a former Scotland centre, played on two Lions tours in 1974 - the famous unbeaten trip to South Africa - and in 1977 in New Zealand. As Lions coach he led the team to series triumphs in Australia in 1989 and South Africa ten years ago and a hard-fought 2-1 defeat to the All Blacks in 1993.

The Scot had the role of coach to the Lions midweek side on that ill-fated 2005 tour of New Zealand and that section of the trip was an oasis of normality in amid the madness of Woodward's approach to the top job.

McGeechan enjoyed working alongside Gareth Jenkins, the former Wales coach, while current England defence coach Mike Ford completed their midweek management group.

Jenkins handled the forwards and would be favourite to reprise this role under a McGeechan-led South Africa tour while Wasps coach Shaun Edwards, who now works on a daily basis with McGeechan, would marshall the defence.

The identity of a prospective backs coach is more difficult to guess though Mike Catt, who has just started his first coaching role with London Irish, would be an attractive option to mastermind the attack in his homeland.

The four home unions will name their chosen head coach at the end of the 2008 Six Nations and a good tournament for Ireland could see their coach Eddie O'Sullivan, whose stock has fallen dramatically as a result of the World Cup, emerge as a possible alternative to McGeechan.