The task for the Lions is daunting and success no more than a dream. But Ian McGeechan is a man who inspires daring dreams, writes Patrick Collins in the Daily Mail.
"But the huge landmark is already looming; the selection of the first Test team. ‘That’s got to be a really hard job,’ he says. ‘Because if it’s hard, then I’ll know that everyone’s in the frame. ‘Come Test week, I want to have to make difficult decisions. It’s the turning point of every tour. You see, every player has to believe he’s got a chance of making the team. That’s why he’s on the tour. But the real strength of a Lion comes after I’ve picked the side. And I’ll find it in the players who don’t get picked.’
Yet again, his experience raises its head. ‘Best example of that?’ he says. ‘Jason Leonard. He was a Test player in ’93, but in ’97 he wasn’t picked for the first Test. All he did, he made sure that the chosen props, Tom Smith and Paul Wallace, had everything they needed to perform in the Test match. 'Now that to me is the ultimate Lion. You can be a Test Lion, that’s easy. But to be like Jason Leonard, to hide your disappointment and help the cause: that’s the ultimate’."
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