Sir Ian McGeechan can rescue England - if the RFU have the courage to appoint him

Published on Sunday 27 November 2011 00:00

After a recent storm of bad publicity for the RFU, Sir Ian McGeechan is the man to get them the right sort of headlines, says Iain Morrison

There is a website that offers the services of a variety of public speakers including Martin Johnson who, it boasts, has expertise in “leadership, motivation and teamwork”. As a player he personified all three; as a coach/manager he could barely spell them. Perhaps the price he charges has slipped a bit recently.

It is understandable, even predictable, that Johnson should have struggled with the complexities of Test tactics, having come to the job as a coaching virgin. But the fact the one-time “enforcer” should fail to ensure a basic level of discipline among the players was a rude awakening for most. Yet the big man took his leave with a good deal more dignity and honesty than he had summoned for much of the preceding three and a half years.

It was too much to believe that it was sheer chance that Eddie O’Sullivan walked away from the American Eagles on the exact same day that “Johnno” quit. Sure enough, the Irishman threw his hat into the ring, along with several other even less suitable candidates such as Dean Ryan, Eddie Jones and John Kirwan.

At the time, picking Johnson was a shot to nothing, a gamble, a huge risk and the man who rolled the dice has paid a high price because Martyn Thomas, former chair of the decision-making RFU management board, has been forced to relinquish every post he ever held at Twickenham, including the lucrative one as chief executive of the 2015 World Cup. He will now spend more time with his Welsh farm.

It’s said that only hardy strains of bacteria and cockroaches would survive a nuclear Armageddon but now we can surely add Rob Andrew. But he and the rest of the “suits” know that they must get the appointment of Johnson’s successor right. England hosts a World Cup in less than four years’ time and, with the clock ticking, look spectacularly ill-equipped to do so. The RFU have gone through three coaches in the last five years and can’t afford another blunder. But, having chased John Steele off the premises, they won’t have a chief executive in place until mid-December and they will be reluctant to hand anyone the coaching reins on a permanent basis before then.

Then there is the 166-page document by Slaughter & May on corporate governance which popped through the letterboxes of RFU council members on Wednesday. It calls for a root and branch restructuring of the way Twickenham is run, and England can’t appoint a permanent coach while they are taking a broom to the boardroom.

The Six Nations is just around the corner and there simply isn’t time to kick back and make a measured choice. Leading candidates including Nick Mallett, Brendan Venter, Sir Clive Woodward, Jake White and Graham Henry all ruled themselves out with embarrassing haste despite the remuneration on offer from the world’s richest union.

Time is running out like an episode of 24 without Jack Bauer to save the day, so the obvious solution is to turn to the rugby equivalent of IBM.

In the old days before the advent of PCs there was a saying in the corporate world that no one ever got fired for buying an IBM mainframe. If Twickenham want an obvious win they must go for the obvious choice – an interim coach who commands immediate respect across the board, someone who knows the game in England, someone with good club connections who also knows the players. If the English press was already onside then so much the better because Twickenham needs some good news.

If the RFU want an easy win ahead of the Six Nations, they have to appoint Sir Ian McGeechan as interim England coach. Admittedly, he’s under contract to Bath but money solves most problems and the RFU made an £8.7 million profit last year.

At 65 he is the perfect age for the post he previously turned down at the end of the last millennium. He is a proud Scot but that Headingley accent is still there and he knows the English scene better than almost anyone after time at Northampton, Wasps and now Bath.

Moreover, McGeechan made his name with the Lions, where forging bonds between disparate players in a short time is an absolute necessity.

That is exactly what England need now for all sorts of reasons.

Time is not on their side, sponsors are furious about the negative press and Joe Public is still rubbing his eyes in bewilderment and disbelief after catching a glimpse of the utter shambles that blighted England’s World Cup campaign.

If McGeechan was to make a success of the Six Nations then perhaps he could become performance manager, overseeing a team of young coaches such as Saints’ Jim Mallinder or Ireland’s Conor O’Shea, until such time as they could thrive without him. With the Calcutta Cup next up on 4 February, the prospect of a Scottish-coached England team taking on an English-coached Scotland side at Murrayfield would add extra spice to a fixture that already generates plenty of sound and fury of its own.

It would be a win, win situation for the RFU. They would buy themselves time to make the right decision for the long term and, in the meantime, they would get a man who is universally admired in the game. For a modest 15 per cent finders’ fee I will even supply the RFU suits with Sir Ian’s phone number.

But, more importantly, can such an appointment actually happen?

Well, you wouldn’t trust the RFU bigwigs to cross a busy street without the aid of a lollipop lady right now so no one is holding their breath.

Already England A coach Stuart Lancaster has been mentioned as the most likely candidate – for no other apparent reasons than he is available and cheap.

But those reasons aren’t good enough because England need to storm the forthcoming Six Nations – if only to expunge that sour World Cup taste from the back of their throats.

Lancaster would be the easy option and the RFU have taken enough of those in recent years.

It’s time they took the right option and, right now, that option is Sir Ian McGeechan.

Comments

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ATG73

Tuesday, November 29, 2011 at 12:40 AM

Just out of curiosity, how many years has he actually spent living in Scotland? As I understand it he is born and bred in England anyway.

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Knowing too much

Monday, November 28, 2011 at 01:31 PM

Extraordinary. Who cares? Would you, at any time, find an article in an English newspaper giving so much consideration to the state of the SRU, and possible appointees to the post of manager of the Scottish international team?

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Epigenes

Monday, November 28, 2011 at 09:01 AM

Geech was offered the England job before. I think it was after Clive Woodward left and he turned it down. He said that he would not feel comfortable because he was such a passionate Scotland supporter.

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Aubrey Wilson

Sunday, November 27, 2011 at 09:29 PM

Sir Ian might do as a temp. But I would go for someone younger. I would also caution taking any succour from England's position. Despite everything, England progressed farther than an apparently rejuvenated Scotland in the WC. In two years time, England are likely to be a very different prospect again. One wonders how England will do in the 6N. It may take a little more time for them to fire up. But the bigger question is Scotland. Having played two 6N tournaments and failed appallingly in each, it is Scotland that needs to up in gear. Concentrate folks on things closer to home please!

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midlothianboy

Sunday, November 27, 2011 at 09:20 PM

There is something about this article that I find thoroughly distasteful.While it contains ,as far as I know,no inaccuracies, and most if not all of the comments regarding the RFU's failings are justified ,the author seems to be taking far too much pleasure from the turmoil that exists south of the border. I always thought that schadenfreude was the preserve of the Germans . Does Mr Morrison have German blood?The RFU have certainly failed to produce the goods since 2003 but the SRU has failed just as badly since the game went professional 15 years ago.They've just been lucky enough not to have been subject to the same press scrutiny . To those who are enjoying England's misfortunes I would only say - enjoy it while you can.When England sort themselves out , as they will eventually,they will again hand out beatings to weaker nations.

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Ianjg

Sunday, November 27, 2011 at 07:22 AM

omg Hairy, i agree so much with your post. no-one focuses on OUR problems. Paddy Power Bingo http:www.play4bingo.co.ukpaddy-power-bingo :-)

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HairyScot

Sunday, November 27, 2011 at 12:31 AM

Given the appalling state of Scottish Rugby maybe Sir Ian should set his sights on problems closer to home? If the performances of the national soccer and rugby teams is any indicator Scotland seems destined to become even more of a sporting backwater. Gone are the days when Scotland was a force to be reckoned with in both soccer and rugby. We even have to bring in players who cannot qualify for the country of their birth.

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