Mike Blair's three-year exile from Scottish rugby is set to end this summer following confirmation that the 33-year-old scrum-half is to join Glasgow Warriors on a deal that will take him through until 2017.
Blair shares the record as the third most-capped Scot in rugby history with Ross Ford, both players having turned out for their country 85 times. Having made his first appearance for Scotland against the USA in 2002, he finally hung up his Test boots in 2012, but then extended his club career by moving from Edinburgh to Brive before joining Newcastle in 2013.
Blair has made no secret of his desire to move into coaching and has worked with junior clubs near Newcastle since his move to the north-east side. At Glasgow, it is understood that he will have a mentoring role for some of the clubs' up-an-coming scrum-halves.
However, Blair is still expected to compete for a place in the Warriors' lineup. Next season's roster of nines is currently expected to include Henry Pyrgos, Ali Price, Grayson Hart and Murray McConnel, although there may be changes to that list over the summer months. Scotland under-20 scrum-half George Horne, younger brother of Peter, has also been linked with the club.
While most Glasgow fans will be glad to see such a talented, knowledgeable and experienced performer as Blair come to the club, others will remain concerned that Glasgow have not yet bolstered an attack that is set to lose Niko Matawalu, DTH van der Merwe and Sean Maitland at the end of this season.
While Blair spent his entire professional career in Scotland at Edinburgh, he has a long-standing connection with Glasgow head coach Gregor Townsend, and he confirmed that the link had been influential in his decision to join the Warriors.
"One of the reasons I'm moving to Glasgow is the opportunity to work with Gregor (Townsend) again," said Blair. "I played with him when I started out with Scotland and he coached me when he was part of the Scotland set-up.
"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 scrum-halves at the club such as Henry and Grayson.
"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 Guinness PRO12 again next season and I think the style of rugby will really suit my game."
Blair has been in fine form for Newcastle this season, although the fact the Kingston Park club re-signed Micky Young last month was an early indication that the Scot could be on the way out at the season's end. However, Newcastle director of rugby Dean Richards paid tribute to his contribution to the side.
"Mike has been a valued member of our squad and has done an excellent job for us in his time with the club," said Richards. "We are grateful for all he has done and we wish him all the best with the Warriors."
Townsend said: "Mike's experience and knowledge of the game will be really valuable for our playing and coaching group and I'm certain our other scrum-halves will benefit from his input. We expect Mike to compete hard for a starting place with our other nines next season and in addition bring a wealth of experience and knowledge to the club."
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