British and Irish Lions: McGeechan is the unanimous choice to lead Lions tour

WASPS director of rugby Ian McGeechan is expected to be confirmed as head coach of the 2009 British and Irish Lions today with dissenting voices impossible to find.

Former Scotland coach McGeechan, 61, is synonymous with the Lions having been involved in a record six tours as a player (1974, 1977), assistant coach (2005) and head coach (1987, 1993, 1997). His seventh would see him lead the Lions' assault on world champions South Africa and attempt a repeat of his famous 1997 triumph over world champion Springboks.

McGeechan was the outstanding candidate in what very quickly became a one-horse race. Wales' Grand Slam-winning coaching team of Warren Gatland and Shaun Edwards could be named assistants, but neither were in the running for the top job. The Welsh Rugby Union had its fingers burned in 2001 when Graham Henry took charge in Australia, a stint which affected his relationship with some Welsh players.

The WRU chose not to nominate their own coach for the Lions role, while England and Ireland have both only recently appointed new men in charge and Scotland's Frank Hadden never entered the equation.

South Africa's World Cup- winning coach Jake White voiced an interest in leading the Lions against his own country, but McGeechan has always been the cast-iron favourite. "And rightly so," said Gareth Edwards, a Lions team-mate of McGeechan's in 1974. "He has all the credentials. What is vitally important is that at a time when there are still questions asked about Lions tours he knows the very ethos and meaning of a Lions tour."

Gavin Hastings, captain under McGeechan in 1993, is convinced the Scot can repair an image he believes was tarnished by the 2005 tour when Sir Clive Woodward headed for New Zealand armed with a giant squad, a huge backroom staff and plans to create the blueprint for all future Lions tours. McGeechan and Gareth Jenkins were unbeaten as midweek coaches, but the All Blacks swept to a 3-0 Test series victory.

Hastings said: "In 2005, we went a long way towards losing that aura. It became a bit of a circus. It just feels right that in this instance Geech is there. He is a very astute, clever and experienced man. He commands huge respect and has become so synonymous with the Lions."

Another major advantage of selecting McGeechan is that he potentially has a ready-made coaching staff already around him in Edwards and Gatland.

The pair formed a close friendship 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.

Jason Robinson, whose only experience of McGeechan was on the 2005 tour, is a former Wigan team-mate of Shaun Edwards' and believes they would be the ideal coaching team.

"Geech has the passion. You can't play this game without passion," said Robinson. "He really got me going. The coaches have to get on and if you have three people who already have that bond it will make it easier."

• John Davidson of Jed-Forest was elected to the Scottish Rugby Council last night as representative of clubs in Scottish Hydro Electric Premier Division 2. He will take up his post after the SRU AGM at the end of June.

In the first round of voting Davidson received six votes, Keith Wallace (Haddington) four, Bernard Dunn (GHA) one and Bob Hogarth (Peebles) one. Dunn and Hogarth thus stood down from the second round of votes which saw Davidson elected by seven votes to five for Wallace.