Former England prop Graham Rowntree has been added to the British and Irish Lions coaching set-up up for the tour of South Africa.
Former England prop appointed as scrum coach for 2009 tour
Former England and Leicester prop Graham Rowntree has been added to the British and Irish Lions coaching set-up up for the tour of South Africa.
Rowntree has been working as England's scrum coach since 2007 and he will fill the specialist role against the Springboks.
The 37-year-old joins Ian Ian McGeechan's coaching team of Warren Gatland (forwards), Shaun Edwards (defence) and Rob Howley (backs) for the 10-match tour.
Rowntree played under McGeechan in the successful 1997 Lions team in South Africa, before making two Test appearances in the 2005 trip to New Zealand.
McGeechan said: "I am delighted to have Graham on board. He brings with him a direct approach and an understanding of not only what we are looking to achieve as a coaching group but also an understanding of the Lions ethos.
"The scrum will be an intensely contested area in South Africa and we'll need to be technically accurate at scrum time from the moment we arrive.
"It is crucial to have a forward pack that are technically as good as they can be against a renowned set of South African forwards."
Honour
Rowntree had previously worked with the RFU national academy and he is relishing the chance to coach the Lions pack.
He said: "It is a tremendous honour to be asked to become involved with Geech's coaching set-up.
"Having experienced both the highs and lows of Lions rugby as a player I am determined to be part of a winning set-up in 2009 and relishing the opportunity to work with the other coaches to make that happen.
"Geech is someone that I have an enormous amount of respect for and cannot wait to play my part in contributing to a great environment."
Rowntree had been due to travel to Argentina with the England squad, however he has been given the full blessing by boss Martin Johnson to make the trip.
"On behalf of the England squad I'm delighted for Graham and it's a well deserved honour," Johnson said.
"Having played alongside Graham for many years at club and international level and having seen him coach the England squad I know what an asset he will be to the British and Irish Lions who he served so well as a squad member in 1997 and 2005.
"I will give due consideration to replacing Graham for the tour to Argentina."
