The British and Irish Lions will elbow the Heineken Cup off the rugby pages tomorrow when they are expected to announce the appointment of Scotland legend Andy Irvine as manager for the 2013 tour to Australia. Scotland on Sunday's Iain Morrison reports.
"The former president of the Scottish Rugby Union is keen to extend his long association with the Lions which stretches back to 1974 when he first toured South Africa as a 22-year-old player. Irvine toured three times in total as a Lion, with further trips to New Zealand in 1977 and South Africa again in 1980.
"The appointment of the manager will be accompanied by the announcement that HSBC has renewed its sponsorship of the Lions.
"Ian McGeechan is the only other obvious candidate for the position of Lions manager. However, he is contracted to Bath as director of rugby and is unlikely to be available.
"Irvine's likely recruitment will be a boost for Scottish rugby, which has failed to make much of a mark on the last two Lions tours. Two hookers, Gordon Bulloch and Ross Ford, were the only Scots to make Test appearances in 2005 and 2009 respectively, both off the bench and both in the final international."
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