Sir Ian McGeechan brought in to mentor Joe Ford at Doncaster Knights

Sir Ian McGeechan, who made his name with multiple successes as coach of the British and Irish Lions, Scotland and Northampton, has been brought into the club as consultant director of rugby.

The 77-year-old who was born in Leeds will assist and mentor first-time head coach Joe Ford.

The move comes 10 days after the club announced the sudden departure of Steve Boden from the full-time director of rugby role after three and a half years in charge. The news shook the Championship, and Boden’s comments to The Yorkshire Post earlier this week about his lack of faith in the way the second tier is being governed by the Rugby Football Union, was damning.

Clubs in the Championship are in the process of being invited by the RFU to apply to be part of a more professional ‘Premiership 2’ in future seasons, but Doncaster co-owner Steve Lloyd said last month he would not sign his club up to that without more assurances about funding, and is also loathe to mortgage Doncaster’s future on it.

On McGeechan’s appointment, Lloyd said: “After a relationship spanning a number of years, during which we have both fought, with others, for the betterment of Championship rugby, together with our mutual passion for Yorkshire rugby, Ian, or Geech to all who know him, very willingly agreed to come and give us a hand creating the future at Castle Park.

“We continue to be focussed on development at Doncaster Knights, whether that be players, coaches or the club itself and I cannot think of a better mentor for head coach Joe Ford or a better fount of knowledge for the whole team and the club’s development generally. There is a real buzz that he is here.”

McGeechan’s last direct involvement in club rugby was with Leeds Carnegie and ended in 2019 with the club on the verge of going under. He instigated the club’s rebrand as Yorkshire as he sought to tap into the county-wide pool of players.

Ford will pick the team and conduct training sessions. Former player Glen Kenworthy, who is Doncaster’s director of development rugby, has stepped into the role of forwards coach for the remainder of the season.

Sign up to the all new Sports Editor’s Team Talk newsletter coming soon.

Lloyd and Ford informed the players on Thursday morning about McGeechan’s arrival, and he is expected to be in the stands for the visit of Coventry on Saturday.

Lloyd told The Yorkshire Post: “Joe Ford is a well-respected coach, and I’ve know Geech for many, many years, we’re aligned in everything in terms of how to play rugby etc.

“He’s worked with Joe before at Carnegie. He is not a stand-aside-I’m-coming-in type of guy, he really wants to mentor Joe and is a big believer of using the senior players to push things forward.

“We didn’t want a traditional director of rugby, we wanted something different. Geech will be using his experience to mentor Joe.

“We want to be a magnet for young, talented players. We’ve already got one of the youngest squads by average age in the league and we want to continue that. And Ian will add a lot to Joe’s thinking.

“We want to play an open, fast brand of rugby. You’ve got to entertain people if you want people to pay good money to watch you.

“The way rugby is changing, with the England team, in the Premiership, we’ve got to recognise what puts money on the table to get people into sport.

“You’re in the entertainment game.”

Lloyd confirmed that Boden’s departure last week was amicable from both sides.