Mike Blair

Mike Blair

Player information
Full name	Michael Robert Leighton Blair
birthday	April 20, 1981
place of birth	Edinburgh , Scotland
Nickname	Blade
society
society	Career ended
position	Half of the crowd
Clubs as active
Years	society	Games (points)
2002–2012 2012–2013 2013–2015 2015–2016	Edinburgh Rugby CA Brive Newcastle Falcons Glasgow Warriors	157 (78) 24 (5) 34 (15) 12 (0)
Teams in youth
Years	team
	Edinburgh Academical FC Boroughmuir RFC
National team
Years	National team	Games (points)
2002-2009	Scotland	73 (35)
Status: November 7, 2019 National team: November 7, 2019

Michael Robert Leighton Blair (born April 20, 1981 in Edinburgh ) is a former Scottish rugby union player who was active for Edinburgh and the Scottish national team . He played in the scrum-half position .

Blair made his Scotland debut against Canada in 2002 and scored a try . He was part of the squad for the 2003 World Cup and came to an action against the USA . In November 2004, he came on as a substitute in the historic 100: 8 win against Japan and was able to make another attempt to win. At the 2006 Six Nations , he was one of the standout players of the tournament and helped the Scots beat both France and England at home at Murrayfield Stadium . The following year he could not take part in this tournament due to an injury, but got fit again in time for the World Cup and was able to participate in four out of five games.

When Blair took on Jason White as captain at the 2008 Six Nations because he was out due to an injury, he became the Scottish team's 108th captain in their history. He was captain in the games against Ireland , England and Italy and won the Calcutta Cup with the team by a 15: 9 over the English national team. He also held this position during the tour to Argentina and also became the 25th player with 50 international matches for Scotland. He was nominated for Player of the Year by the International Rugby Board for his outstanding performance . In addition to him, Daniel Carter , Ryan Jones , Sergio Parisse and Shane Williams had been nominated for this award, with Williams winning the election.

Blair has been considered a contender for the scrum half-post on the upcoming British and Irish Lions tour due to his achievements in recent years . However, due to his form weakness at the Six Nations 2009 , he was initially not considered for the squad. After Tomás O'Leary injured himself in advance, he was nominated.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Mike Blair nominated for player of the year. The Times, September 25, 2008, accessed March 21, 2009 . 
2. ↑ Shane Williams: IRB Player of the Year 2008. (No longer available online.) IRB, November 23, 2008, archived from the original on March 1, 2009 ; accessed on March 21, 2009 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
3. ↑ Simon Thomas: What now for Wales captain Ryan Jones following his Lions omission? Western Mail, April 22, 2009, accessed April 22, 2009 . 
4. ↑ McGeechan turns to Blair. Sky Sports, May 11, 2009, accessed May 11, 2009 . 

Web links

• Profile at the SRU