Warriors bring Blair home

 

The former Scotland captain and British and Irish Lion will move to Scotstoun in the summer from Newcastle Falcons, subject to a medical.

 

With 85 caps to his name, Blair is Scotland's most capped scrumhalf and will be returning to Scotland three years after leaving Edinburgh for Brive.

 

Following a year in France, he joined Newcastle Falcons and has gone on to play 39 times for the Premiership side.

 

Blair captained Scotland on 14 occasions before retiring from international rugby at the start of 2013 and has played in three World Cups during his career.

 

He was also part of the 2009 British and Irish Lions squad, which toured South Africa.

 

The 33-year-old was named Scotland's Player of the Year in 2008 and is the only Scotsman to have ever been nominated for the IRB (now World Rugby) International Player of the Year, that same season.

 

Blair enjoyed ten years with Edinburgh, playing 158 times and scoring 78 points. He was twice named Edinburgh's Player of the Year and helped them reach the semifinals of the European Cup in 2012.

 

Commenting on the move, Blair said: "I'm very excited about moving back to Scotland and joining a very ambitious club.

 

"One of the reasons I'm moving to Glasgow is the opportunity to work with Gregor [Townsend] again.

 

"I played with him when I started out with Scotland and he coached me when he was part of the Scotland set-up and that was definitely a big factor in my decision to join the Warriors.

 

"My aim is to move into coaching and I see Gregor as being a great role model.

 

"Part of my role will be to help the younger guys develop and it will be good to work closely with the other scrumhalves at the club such as Henry [Pyrgos] and Grayson [Hart].

 

"I had opportunities to stay in England, but I want to make a further contribution to the game in Scotland and eventually make the transition into coaching.

 

"I'm looking forward to playing in the Pro12 again next season and I think the style of rugby will really suit my game.”

 

Glasgow Warriors head coach Gregor Townsend added: "It's great news for the club that Mike will be joining us in June.

 

"He has been in excellent form and has started most of Newcastle's games this season. They've been playing a high-tempo attacking game, which brings out the best in Mike and is similar to the rugby we play at Glasgow.

 

"Mike's experience and knowledge of the game will be really valuable for our playing and coaching group and I'm certain our other scrumhalves will benefit from his input.

 

"We expect Mike to compete hard for a starting place with our other No.9s next season and in addition bring a wealth of experience and knowledge to the club."