Eddie the Eagle hoping to coach Lions 2013 tour

FORMER Ireland coach Eddie O’Sullivan still harbours a strong ambition to coach the British & Irish Lions and believes he will be in the perfect position to carry out the role in 2013.

O’Sullivan is contracted to the US Eagles until next September’s Rugby World Cup and has yet to decide on his future after that campaign comes to an end. The Eagles flew into London yesterday for a short tour that will see them play Saracens next Tuesday before games against Portugal, Scotland ‘A’, and Georgia.

The Lions last month confirmed Andy Irvine as manager for the tour to Australia and the hunt is now on for a coach, with Warren Gatland and Ian McGeechan both in the frame.

“I’d love it,” O’Sullivan admitted to the Irish Examiner from his base in Boulder, Colorado when asked about the high-profile role.

“This time four years ago I was in pole position for it. And in fact even up to the summer of 2007, I was in pole position. But then after the World Cup and after I resigned from Ireland, that was the end of that. Which is understandable. I don’t have any animosity towards the Lions over that.

“The next tour will be six or seven years after I was in the frame so I would certainly love to have a run at it again. I’m still a rugby coach, I still feel like I have a lot to contribute. Yeah, it’s something that would certainly interest me if I was there.

“The fact that they’re saying they can’t take a Six Nations rugby coach out of his job for a year... they’re looking for a coach who can take a year out before the tour to get a good run at it. And there isn’t anybody coaching a Six Nations rugby side who can do that. So, as a former Six Nations rugby coach and as someone who is from one of the home countries, I’d certainly like to be considered for it.”

O’Sullivan is 18 months into his current stint with the Eagles and claims he is not yet looking beyond next year’s World Cup.

“I have no idea, the business I’m in, you never know. You go from contract to contract. If you told me back in 2008 that I’d be in America in 2009, I’d have laughed at you. That’s the way it works.

“Whether I’m offered a new contract or whether I’ll stay, I really don’t know. That’s still in the air. I have family back in Ireland, I’m away from them quite a bit so if I was to stay here, I’d have to consider the ramifications of that.”