By James Standley

Dallaglio (left) and Dawson (right) back McGeechan's appointment

Wasps' decision to appoint Ian McGeechan as director of rugby has been welcomed by two of the senior players at the club.

Long-term Wasps servant and captain Lawrence Dallaglio and England scrum-half Matt Dawson have both worked with McGeechan before.

Dallaglio played under McGeechan for the Lions and he says he has no doubt the club has found the right man to replace departing coach Warren Gatland.

"Obviously he's played for and coached the national team (Scotland) and he's played for and coached the Lions, so if you're looking at credentials you couldn't have selected any better really," said Dallaglio.

"You're never going to replace like with like, but Ian is exactly the person the club is looking for.

"Just from a personal point of view, with my previous experience of working with him, I know exactly what he's about and he'll definitely be able to add to and enhance what we already have, which is very successful."

Current boss Gatland, who is returning to New Zealand to coach Waikato in the National Provincial Championship, guided Wasps to both the Zurich Premiership title and the Heineken Cup last season.

He will be a hard act to follow but Dallaglio has no doubt that McGeechan will gel with the rest of the Wasps coaches to create a successful team.

"Warren and Ian are both very astute and they've both got a very firm idea of how they want to play the game," said Dallaglio.

I would hazard a guess he will be just as impressed as I was when I came to the club Scrum-half Matt Dawson

"Certainly Ian's tactical expertise will be invaluable - he's got so much experience.

"We already have a number of coaches - Shaun Edwards in particular - who have got incredible enthusiasm, incredible knowledge and incredible skills, and I think that rather like picking a team, it's about combining those skills.

"With Leon Holden, Shaun, potentially Craig Dowd and Ian, you have to say that that represents probably one of the strongest coaching structures within the domestic game."

McGeechan has plenty of Premiership experience, having coached Northampton from 1993-99, and Dawson knows him well from their time at Franklin's Gardens.

The England scrum-half left Saints to join Wasps this season and says he is delighted to be renewing acquaintances with McGeechan.

"Wasps are in a very fortunate position having Geech here," said Dawson. "I had a very good relationship with him at Northampton.

"He likes to get involved with the half-backs, same as Shaun Edwards, and as a player you tend to feed off coaches like that.

"You never know when you are going to bump into people again in life and I'm very pleased Geech will be taking over.

"I would hazard a guess he will be just as impressed as I was when I came to the club."