Ian
McGeechan

Ian McGeechan is a giant of Scottish Rugby and a British and Irish Lions legend. Discover his hall of fame coaching career with rugby gurus RugbyPass.

Ian McGeechan Bio

Ian McGeechan is a former Scottish rugby player who is better known for his coaching career. During this time, he had successful spells with Scotland, the British and Irish Lions and London Wasps. Ian McGeechan was inducted into the RugbyPass Hall of Fame in 2021.

Ian McGeechan took to rugby while still in school. After graduating, he played domestic rugby for Headingley. During his career, he also represented Scotland on 32 occasions, including nine as captain. On top of this, he also went on two tours with the British and Irish Lions, earning eight caps.

After retiring from rugby in 1979, Ian McGeechan embarked on a career as a coach. In 1986, he became the assistant coach for Scotland. Then, in 1988, he was promoted to coach. Under his stewardship, Scotland won the Grand Slam at the Five Nations Championship (now the Six Nations) in 1990.

Thanks to his success as Scotland coach, Ian McGeechan was selected as the head coach for the British and Irish Lions in 1989. He then also went on to coach the side in 1993, 1997 and 2009. On the invitation of 2005 coach Clive Woodward, he coached the midweek side.

After leaving Scotland in 1993, Ian McGeechan was appointed as the Director of Rugby at Northampton Saints. Following this, he became the Scotland Director of Rugby in 2000 and the London Wasps Director of Rugby in 2005. Under his stewardship, London Wasps won the Anglo Welsh Cup, the Heineken Champions Cup and the Premiership.

Since his successful stint with London Wasps, Ian McGeechan has also held roles with Gloucester, Bath and Leeds Carnegie. However, he resigned from his role as the chairman of Leeds Carnegie in 2019. He now works as a pundit.