Bath satisfy Ian McGeechan's hunger for hands-on role

In his case, however, it was neither the rigours of the journey nor the demands of the Lions tour that made him long for a break, but the quarter-century and more he had devoted to coaching in top-flight rugby.

He had always expected his seventh Lions tour to be the last in which he had major involvement. And, having stood down as Wasps director of rugby, he had the chance for a clean break from the sport.

Inevitably, though, it did not last. After a few months off, and shortly after being knighted in the 2010 New Year Honours, McGeechan agreed to a part-time post at Gloucester as advisor to Bryan Redpath and his assistant coach Carl Hogg. At 63 he might have been expected to settle for such relatively light duties, but all they did was whet his appetite for greater involvement.

Last month he was offered that involvement when Bath invited him to become their performance director. A second invitation was not required.

At Murrayfield this week for the second meeting of the group which will nominate the first wave of inductees to the Scottish Rugby Hall of Fame later this year, the former Scotland coach and director of rugby explained why he believed his new job at the Recreation Ground was ideal for him - and why he had been unable to stay away from rugby for long.

"I needed it, I think," he said of the sabbatical he took after the Lions tour had ended in a 2-1 series loss to the Springboks. "Twenty-nine years on the bounce was a long time. So for about a month I thought, yeah, this is all right,

"After about four months I was thinking it less so, and after six months a bit less. That was the decision I had to make - how much involvement did I want? And having said yes, looking at the game I still feel ideas that I think are worth discussing and being part of it."

"I like the hands on. After you've had the rest, that's the bit I miss most. It's nice I've got the opportunity to keep that involvement up.

"If somebody had said I'd be coaching at top club and international level for 30 years, I'd probably have taken it 30 years ago. I don't know where it's gone, to be honest. It feels like about ten. In that respect I've been very fortunate."

As his job at Bath entails working through the coaches rather than directly with the players, it is not as hands-on as some of his previous posts. But it does play to the strengths of a man always known as one of the most innovative thinkers in the game, and it also offers a fresh stimulus both for McGeechan and for head coach Steve Meehan and his team. "It's good, because it's different to anything else I've done. It's working with the coaches but being more of a sounding board. And it's the sort of thing I'm really comfortable in doing and looking forward to, rather than being hands on at the front driving everything, to work through the coaches with tactics, preparation and the bits that go round the team, even going back to the academy.

"Where I hope I'll get most satisfaction in this is in seeing the coaches develop. It's like a boot room. I've tended to work like that anyway - talking things through, or if we want to go in a certain direction how to get there, or tactically if we want to do this how are we going to put it into training. All those sorts of things, which are great conversations to have.

"I was doing a day a week at Gloucester with Bryan Redpath and Carl Hogg, which I really enjoyed. But it was only a day a week. The decision I had to make was how much involvement I wanted, so the Bath one is going to be more substantial. It's flexible, but could be five days a week. It's whatever's required.

"I'm just pleased to have the opportunity. Having more or less had a year's sabbatical after the Lions it's a good challenge, but exciting as well. I feel really comfortable now working through other people and the majority of delivery is through them rather than through you."

The boot-room approach is one older heads at Bath know well. It was in place around 15 years ago, for instance, when three future England coaches, Brian Ashton, Clive Woodward and Andy Robinson, were all involved. Now Scotland coach, Robinson played a key role in McGeechan's arrival at his old club.

"He was the introduction," said McGeechan. "He obviously knows all the Bath people and that's how it came through. One of the first phone calls I had about it was from Andy, actually. He and I have always got on, and I do rate him highly as a coach.

"We've had good conversations and it sort of actually evolved out of that. But I had to decide how much involvement I wanted."

McGeechan's high opinion of Robinson has only been enhanced by recent results such as the two-Test victory in Argentina and the win in Ireland which concluded the Six Nations. The national team's success has also vindicated his long-held conviction that Gregor Townsend, his protege at Northampton in the early years of the professional era and now Robinson's assistant, would make an excellent coach.

"I've been pretty open about what I think of Andy. I've enjoyed working with him and he's a top-class coach. With Gregor alongside him there's a good thought process there, and that's reflected in what the players are doing and how they're doing it. There's a very good focus and direction. Three big wins, tremendous wins, back to back, taking the Irish win as well. That's been a massive impact on the game.

"Gregor always talked things through. You could have good conversations with him.

"He didn't always go out and do the same thing on the field, mind you. But as far as discussion goes, he's got a very good in-depth understanding of what makes a team tick and what makes the game go. So it's no surprise to me [that he has become a coach]."

McGeechan will be past the traditional retirement age by the time the next Lions tour comes around, but, whether he is still with Bath by that time or not, he is committed to playing a part in the series against the Wallabies. "The Lions board have asked me to stay involved with some of the planning for Australia from a rugby point of view. They've never done that before, had a rugby input into the planning.

"But again, it's only whatever it takes, a few days. Bath are happy with that. They've been informed.

"So I'm looking forward to that. In a Lions context, if you get it right, in the players' eyes it's the biggest jersey they can put on. So I almost have a duty to try and make it as right as we can make it."

But will his input be restricted to the planning stage, or might he be tempted, despite his insistence that 2009 represented his last hurrah, into donning a tracksuit again and being part of the coaching team? The odds are against the latter, but McGeechan has no wish to rule it out entirely.

"I've not thought about it, put it that way," he said when asked if another stint as head coach would appeal. "I'm happy. This is what I am. This is what I am happy with and very comfortable with, and will take a lot of satisfaction out of."