# Ian McGeechan

Sir Ian Robert McGeechan, OBE (born 30 October 1946) is a Scottish rugby union player, coach and teacher. Born in Leeds, McGeechan represented Headingley as his only club during a 15-year club career, qualifying for Scotland through his father he played 32 times internationally for Scotland over 7 years and won 8 caps on two tours for the British & Irish Lions. During his playing career he worked as a teacher. Upon retiring from playing McGeechan began coaching, in a career spanning 26 years he coached the most recent Scottish side to win a Grand Slam in the 1990 Five Nations Championship, and won Premiership Rugby & the European Cup with London Wasps in 2008 and 2007. He was head coach on four tours for the British & Irish Lions spanning 1989 to 2009 and was an assistant to the 2005 tour as well.

## Early life

McGeechan was born in Leeds to a Glaswegian father who was in the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. He attended West Park County Secondary School and Moor Grange County Secondary School and became Head Boy and trained to be a PE teacher at Carnegie Physical Training College (now part of Leeds Metropolitan University). Although his family mostly played football, he took to rugby while in school.

## Playing career

McGeechan played for Headingley and made his debut for Scotland in 1972. He won thirty-two caps, playing at fly-half and centre. He captained Scotland on nine occasions. He toured with the British & Irish Lions in both 1974 and 1977.

## Coaching career

In 1986, McGeechan became the assistant Scotland coach to Derrick Grant and in 1988 he was promoted to coach. In 1990 his team won a Grand Slam victory in the Five Nations Championship. His forwards coach and partner was Jim Telfer.
McGeechan was the British & Irish Lions head coach in 1989, 1993, 1997 and 2009. In 2005, he coached the midweek side on the Lions' tour to New Zealand on the invitation of Sir Clive Woodward.
In 1994, McGeechan was appointed as Director of Rugby at Northampton and in 1999 replaced Jim Telfer as Scottish Director of Rugby.
McGeechan was appointed Director of Rugby at London Wasps in 2005 after an unsuccessful and unhappy period as the Scottish Director of Rugby. In his first season of 2005/06 he led Wasps to the Anglo Welsh Cup title, beating Llanelli Scarlets in the final at Twickenham. In his second season, London Wasps claimed the Heineken Cup and in his third season, London Wasps won the Premiership
In February 2010, McGeechan joined the coaching staff at Gloucester as an advisor to Head Coach Bryan Redpath and his coaching team. but moved to local rivals Bath to take up the post of performance director in June 2010.
In 2011, McGeechan took over as the director of rugby at Bath following Steve Meehan's departure.
In July 2012, McGeechan was appointed the executive chairman of Leeds Carnegie.
In February 2024, McGeechan was brought in as the Director of Rugby at RFU Championship side, Doncaster Knights, and helps Joe Ford with the squad.

## Coaching statistics
### Scotland (1988-1993)
#### International matches as head coach

Matches (1988–1993) :
| Matches | Date | Opposition | Venue | Score (Sco.–Opponent) | Competition | Captain |
| 1988 |||||||
| 1 | 19 November | Australia | Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh | 13–32 | Autumn internationals | Gary Callander |
| 1989 |||||||
| 2 | 21 January | Wales | Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh | 23–7 | 1989 Five Nations Championship | Finlay Calder |
| 3 | 4 February | England | Twickenham, London | 12–12 | 1989 Five Nations Championship | Finlay Calder |
| 4 | 4 March | Ireland | Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh | 37–21 | 1989 Five Nations Championship | Finlay Calder |
| 5 | 18 March | France | Parc des Princes, Paris | 3–19 | 1989 Five Nations Championship | Finlay Calder |
| 6 | 28 October | Fiji | Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh | 38–17 | Fiji tour of Europe | David Sole |
| 7 | 9 December | Romania | Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh | 32–0 | Autumn internationals | David Sole |
| 1990 |||||||
| 8 | 3 February | Ireland | Lansdowne Road, Dublin | 13–10 | 1990 Five Nations Championship | David Sole |
| 9 | 17 February | France | Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh | 21–0 | 1990 Five Nations Championship | David Sole |
| 10 | 3 March | Wales | Arms Park, Cardiff | 13–9 | 1990 Five Nations Championship | David Sole |
| 11 | 17 March | England | Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh | 13–7 | 1990 Five Nations Championship | David Sole |
| 12 | 16 June | New Zealand | Carisbrook, Dunedin | 16–31 | New Zealand test series | David Sole |
| 13 | 23 June | New Zealand | Eden Park, Auckland | 18–21 | New Zealand test series | David Sole |
| 14 | 10 November | Argentina | Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh | 49–3 | Argentina tour of Europe | David Sole |
| 1991 |||||||
| 15 | 19 January | France | Parc des Princes, Paris | 9–15 | 1991 Five Nations Championship | David Sole |
| 16 | 2 February | Wales | Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh | 32–12 | 1991 Five Nations Championship | David Sole |
| 17 | 16 February | England | Twickenham, London | 12–21 | 1991 Five Nations Championship | David Sole |
| 18 | 16 March | Ireland | Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh | 28–25 | 1991 Five Nations Championship | David Sole |
| 19 | 31 August | Romania | Dinamo Stadium, Bucharest | 12–18 | 1991 RWC warm-up | David Sole |
| 20 | 5 October | Japan | Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh | 47–9 | 1991 Rugby World Cup | David Sole |
| 21 | 9 October | Zimbabwe | Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh | 51–12 | 1991 Rugby World Cup | Peter Dods |
| 22 | 12 October | Ireland | Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh | 24–15 | 1991 Rugby World Cup | David Sole |
| 23 | 19 October | Samoa | Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh | 28–6 | 1991 Rugby World Cup | David Sole |
| 24 | 26 October | England | Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh | 6–9 | 1991 Rugby World Cup | David Sole |
| 25 | 30 October | New Zealand | Arms Park, Cardiff | 6–13 | 1991 Rugby World Cup | David Sole |
| 1992 |||||||
| 26 | 18 January | England | Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh | 7–25 | 1992 Five Nations Championship | David Sole |
| 27 | 15 February | Ireland | Lansdowne Road, Dublin | 18–10 | 1992 Five Nations Championship | David Sole |
| 28 | 7 March | France | Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh | 10–6 | 1992 Five Nations Championship | David Sole |
| 29 | 21 March | Wales | Arms Park, Cardiff | 12–15 | 1992 Five Nations Championship | David Sole |
| 30 | 13 June | Australia | Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney | 12–27 | Australia test series | David Sole |
| 31 | 21 June | Australia | Ballymore Stadium, Brisbane | 13–37 | Australia test series | David Sole |
| 1993 |||||||
| 32 | 16 January | Ireland | Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh | 15–3 | 1993 Five Nations Championship | Gavin Hastings |
| 33 | 6 February | France | Parc des Princes, Paris | 3–11 | 1993 Five Nations Championship | Gavin Hastings |
| 34 | 20 February | Wales | Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh | 20–0 | 1993 Five Nations Championship | Gavin Hastings |
| 35 | 6 March | England | Twickenham, London | 12–26 | 1993 Five Nations Championship | Gavin Hastings |

#### Record by country

| Opponent | Played | Won | Drew | Lost | Win ratio (%) | For | Against |
| Argentina | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 49 | 3 |
| Australia | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 000 | 38 | 96 |
| England | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 017 | 62 | 100 |
| Fiji | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 38 | 17 |
| France | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 040 | 46 | 51 |
| Ireland | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 135 | 84 |
| Japan | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 47 | 9 |
| New Zealand | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 000 | 40 | 65 |
| Romania | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 050 | 44 | 18 |
| Samoa | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 28 | 6 |
| Wales | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 080 | 100 | 43 |
| Zimbabwe | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 51 | 12 |
| TOTAL | 35 | 19 | 1 | 15 | 054 | 640 | 504 |

### Scotland (2000-2003)
#### International matches as head coach

Note: World Rankings Column shows the World Ranking Scotland was placed at on the following Monday after each of their matches
Matches (2000–2003) :
| Matches | Date | Opposition | Venue | Score (Sco.–Opponent) | Competition | Captain | World Ranking |
| 2000 ||||||||
| 1 | 5 February | Italy | Stadio Flaminio, Rome | 20–34 | 2000 Six Nations Championship | John Leslie | n/a |
| 2 | 19 February | Ireland | Lansdowne Road, Dublin | 22–44 | 2000 Six Nations Championship | Bryan Redpath | n/a |
| 3 | 4 March | France | Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh | 16–28 | 2000 Six Nations Championship | John Leslie | n/a |
| 4 | 18 March | Wales | Millennium Stadium, Cardiff | 18–26 | 2000 Six Nations Championship | John Leslie | n/a |
| 5 | 2 April | England | Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh | 19–13 | 2000 Six Nations Championship | Andy Nicol | n/a |
| 6 | 24 June | New Zealand | Carisbrook, Dunedin | 20–69 | New Zealand test series | Andy Nicol | n/a |
| 7 | 1 July | New Zealand | Eden Park, Auckland | 14–48 | New Zealand test series | Andy Nicol | n/a |
| 8 | 4 November | United States | Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh | 53–6 | Autumn internationals | Budge Pountney | n/a |
| 9 | 11 November | Australia | Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh | 9–30 | Autumn internationals | Budge Pountney | n/a |
| 10 | 18 November | Samoa | Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh | 31–8 | Autumn internationals | Budge Pountney | n/a |
| 2001 ||||||||
| 11 | 4 February | France | Stade de France, Saint-Denis | 6–16 | 2001 Six Nations Championship | Andy Nicol | n/a |
| 12 | 17 February | Wales | Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh | 28–28 | 2001 Six Nations Championship | Andy Nicol | n/a |
| 13 | 3 March | England | Twickenham, London | 3–43 | 2001 Six Nations Championship | Andy Nicol | n/a |
| 14 | 17 March | Italy | Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh | 23–19 | 2001 Six Nations Championship | Budge Pountney | n/a |
| 15 | 22 September | Ireland | Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh | 32–10 | 2001 Six Nations Championship | Budge Pountney | n/a |
| 16 | 10 November | Tonga | Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh | 43–20 | Autumn internationals | Tom Smith | n/a |
| 17 | 18 November | Argentina | Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh | 16–25 | Autumn internationals | Tom Smith | n/a |
| 18 | 24 November | New Zealand | Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh | 6–37 | Autumn internationals | Tom Smith | n/a |
| 2002 ||||||||
| 19 | 2 February | England | Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh | 3–29 | 2002 Six Nations Championship | Budge Pountney | n/a |
| 20 | 16 February | Italy | Stadio Flaminio, Rome | 29–12 | 2002 Six Nations Championship | Bryan Redpath | n/a |
| 21 | 2 March | Ireland | Lansdowne Road, Dublin | 22–43 | 2002 Six Nations Championship | Bryan Redpath | n/a |
| 22 | 23 March | France | Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh | 10–22 | 2002 Six Nations Championship | Bryan Redpath | n/a |
| 23 | 6 April | Wales | Millennium Stadium, Cardiff | 27–22 | 2002 Six Nations Championship | Bryan Redpath | n/a |
| 24 | 15 June | Canada | Thunderbird Stadium, Vancouver | 23–26 | North America tour | Stuart Grimes | n/a |
| 25 | 22 June | United States | Boxer Stadium, San Francisco | 65–23 | North America tour | Stuart Grimes | n/a |
| 26 | 9 November | Romania | Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh | 37–10 | Autumn internationals | Bryan Redpath | n/a |
| 27 | 16 November | South Africa | Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh | 21–6 | Autumn internationals | Bryan Redpath | n/a |
| 28 | 24 November | Fiji | Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh | 36–22 | Autumn internationals | Bryan Redpath | n/a |
| 2003 ||||||||
| 29 | 16 February | Ireland | Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh | 6–36 | 2003 Six Nations Championship | Bryan Redpath | n/a |
| 30 | 23 February | France | Stade de France, Saint-Denis | 3–38 | 2003 Six Nations Championship | Bryan Redpath | n/a |
| 31 | 8 March | Wales | Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh | 30–22 | 2003 Six Nations Championship | Bryan Redpath | n/a |
| 32 | 22 March | England | Twickenham, London | 9–40 | 2003 Six Nations Championship | Bryan Redpath | n/a |
| 33 | 29 March | Italy | Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh | 33–25 | 2003 Six Nations Championship | Bryan Redpath | n/a |
| 34 | 7 June | South Africa | Kings Park Stadium, Durban | 25–29 | South Africa test series | Bryan Redpath | n/a |
| 35 | 14 June | South Africa | Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg | 19–28 | South Africa test series | Bryan Redpath | n/a |
| 36 | 23 August | Italy | Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh | 47–15 | 2003 RWC warm-up | Scott Murray | n/a |
| 37 | 30 August | Wales | Millennium Stadium, Cardiff | 9–23 | 2003 RWC warm-up | Scott Murray | n/a |
| 38 | 6 September | Ireland | Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh | 10–29 | 2003 RWC warm-up | Gordon Bulloch | n/a |
| 39 | 12 October | Japan | Dairy Farmers Stadium, Townsville, Australia | 32–11 | 2003 Rugby World Cup | Bryan Redpath | 10th |
| 40 | 20 October | United States | Lang Park, Brisbane, Australia | 39–15 | 2003 Rugby World Cup | Gordon Bulloch | 10th |
| 41 | 25 October | France | Telstra Stadium, Sydney, Australia | 9–51 | 2003 Rugby World Cup | Bryan Redpath | 10th |
| 42 | 1 November | Fiji | Telstra Stadium, Sydney, Australia | 22–20 | 2003 Rugby World Cup | Bryan Redpath | 10th |
| 43 | 8 November | Australia | Lang Park, Brisbane, Australia | 16–33 | 2003 Rugby World Cup | Bryan Redpath | 9th |

#### Record by country

| Opponent | Played | Won | Drew | Lost | Win ratio (%) | For | Against |
| Argentina | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 000 | 16 | 25 |
| Australia | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 000 | 25 | 63 |
| Canada | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 000 | 23 | 26 |
| England | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 025 | 34 | 125 |
| Fiji | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 58 | 42 |
| France | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 000 | 44 | 155 |
| Ireland | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 020 | 92 | 162 |
| Italy | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 080 | 152 | 105 |
| Japan | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 32 | 11 |
| New Zealand | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 000 | 40 | 154 |
| Romania | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 37 | 10 |
| Samoa | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 31 | 8 |
| South Africa | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 033 | 65 | 63 |
| Tonga | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 43 | 20 |
| United States | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 157 | 44 |
| Wales | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 040 | 112 | 121 |
| TOTAL | 43 | 18 | 1 | 24 | 042 | 961 | 1134 |

## Teaching career

During his coaching career, McGeechan was also a PE teacher for over two decades.
McGeechan taught sport and geography at Fir Tree Middle School and Moor Grange County Secondary School in Leeds.

## Honours

McGeechan was knighted in the 2010 New Year Honours for his services to rugby, having previously received an OBE in the 1990 Birthday Honours.

### As a player

* Scotland
** Five Nations Championship
*** Winner: 1973 (Five-way tie as all teams finished equal on points)
*** Runner-up: 1974, 1975
** Calcutta Cup
*** Winner: 1974, 1976

### As head coach

* Scotland (as Assistant coach)
** Rugby World Cup
*** Quarter-finals: 1987
** Five Nations Championship
*** Winner: 1986 ( Shared with France )
*** Runner-up: 1987 ( equal 2nd with Ireland )
** Calcutta Cup
*** Winner: 1986
* Scotland
** Rugby World Cup
*** Fourth place : 1991
*** Quarter-finals : 2003
** Five/Six Nations Championship
*** Winner: 1990
*** Grand Slam: 1990
*** Runner-up: 1989, 1992, 1993
*** Third place: 1991, 2001
** Triple Crown
*** Winner: 1990
** Calcutta Cup
*** Winner: 1989, 1990, 2000
** Centenary Quaich
*** Winner: 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 2001
* Northampton Saints
** Premiership Rugby
*** Runner-up: 1999
** RFU Championship
*** Winner: 1996
* London Wasps
** Premiership Rugby
*** Winner: 2008
** Anglo-Welsh Cup
*** Winner: 2006
** Heineken Cup
*** Winner: 2007

## Views

In August 2014, McGeechan was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to The Guardian expressing their hope that Scotland would vote to remain part of the United Kingdom in September's independence referendum.