The comparison of Ian McGeechan, the most longstanding Lion of them all, to Sir Alex Ferguson, Manchester United's acerbic manager, may do the amiable McGeechan no favours, but it does make a point. That it was made by a third Scot, Andy Irvine, adds to the validity of an observation that age does not necessarily wither the enthusiasm or dim the eye.

Ferguson continues to be an outstanding football manager into his sixties. So, in rugby union, does McGeechan, 61, who will embark on his seventh Lions tour next year, hoping to repeat in South Africa the success he had in the same country, also as head coach, in 1997. The confirmation in London yesterday of his appointment, the most open secret in the sport, will only add an extra spring to his stride as he nurses London Wasps towards the Guinness Premiership play-offs.

In McGeechan's book, there are no hurdles that cannot be overcome. He and Gerald Davies, the Lions manager, can now discuss support staff, he has reached agreement with Wasps - they will be suitably compensated for his services - that he will sustain his 'day job' as director of rugby, in which he can assess on a regular basis the impact of the experimental law variations due for introduction in August, and he is optimistic that the threatened clash of fixtures on May 30 next year will be overcome.

At present, the Lions are due to play the first of ten games on the tour against a Highveld XV in Rustenburg on the same day that the Premiership final, which could feature McGeechan's club, is pencilled in for Twickenham. The RFU and Premier Rugby Ltd could shift one round of 2008-09 Premiership fixtures to a midweek date just after Christmas, which would mean staging the final a fortnight earlier, and leave the Heineken Cup final as the season's closing fixture, with the Lions due to depart for South Africa the next day.

But there is also a counter-proposal that the Rustenburg game could be moved to the unoccupied midweek spot between the second and third internationals (on June 27 and July 4), leaving the tour to kick off on June 3 against one of South Africa's provincial teams, also the Lions, in Johannesburg. That would be untenable because it would reduce to five the number of games in which to prepare for the first international, on June 20.

That remains for negotiation, but McGeechan, in relishing his task, even makes hay with the recent appointment of Martin Johnson as England team manager. “It could not be better,” McGeechan said. “I have the ultimate Lions captain [Johnson led the 1997 Lions in their 2-1 winning series and the 2001 party to a 2-1 series defeat against Australia] in charge of England. What I get back from him comes from a basis of knowledge and understanding second to none. I wake up in the morning and think, 'Crikey, I'm doing this for a job.' I have to pinch myself.”

It is this childlike enthusiasm for what he does that makes McGeechan, who toured as a player in 1974 and 1977, so obvious a choice for the romance and ethos that still invests the Lions, never mind the keen coach's eye and depth of knowledge that he brings to the role. “There has to be a unified approach,” McGeechan said, “players and coaches working together, unique preparation for a unique tour.”

Lessons of 2005

Sir Clive Woodward tried to cater for every contingency, taking 44 players (which grew to 50) and a support staff of 27, including ten coaches. He created a Saturday staff and a midweek staff, in a sense creating parallel tours; Ian McGeechan will take 35 players and five coaches.

Woodward had a preconceived notion of his XV for the internationals, based on survivors from his 2003 World Cup-winning England squad, some of whose form did not justify it. McGeechan believes that players “grow” in a Lions context and that everyone must believe they have an equal chance. Woodward's Lions were overconscious of security, strictly controlled and lost 3-0 to the All Blacks. McGeechan will encourage a relaxed, convivial atmosphere on a tour that every participant will want to remember.