Quins look to McGeechan

According to The Times, Harlequins hope to secure the services of McGeechan (pictured) to replace Dean Richards, who resigned over the fake blood incident before being banned from rugby worldwide for three years.

Richards received the ban after a European Rugby disciplinary hearing found him guilty of orchestrating use of a fake blood capsule in Quins' Heineken Cup quarter-final loss to Leinster before trying to cover up the affair.

McGeechan left Wasps at the end of last season and lead the British and Irish Lions on their summer tour of South Africa.

The 62-year-old former Scotland coach is seen as the ideal person to take Quins forward and help repair the damage of Bloodgate, which also saw wing Tom Williams receive a four-month ban (reduced from 12 months) and the club fined 300,000 euros.

Former Quins physio Steph Brennan was also implicated and recently resigned from his role with the RFU, who he had joined over the summer.

The Times reported that McGeechan has been offered a two-year contract at Quins, but that he is waiting to read the full report from the ERC Bloodgate hearing – expected this week - before making a decision on whether to accept the lucrative offer.

McGeechan won the Premiership, Heineken Cup and Anglo Welsh Cup with Wasps, but left the club a year early at the end of last season due to unhappiness with his dual role as Lions head coach.