MIKE Blair may have been only a caretaker Scotland captain when he took over from the injured Jason White earlier this year, but he settled into the job so quickly and so well that it was no surprise yesterday when he was confirmed in the role for next month's Autumn Tests.
His first match in charge was against Ireland earlier this year, his second saw him lift the Calcutta Cup, and he has also led the team against Italy and in the two summer matches against Argentina. That makes only five games so far, but provided he
maintains his form and fitness, the Edinburgh No9 can expect to hold on to the honour for some time to come.
"I'm really pleased Frank (Hadden, the Scotland coach] has given a big vote of confidence in me to do the job," he said yesterday. "I didn't think it would be announced until a bit later, but I was really pleased when Frank phoned me up and asked me. It's not something you think about for too long."
At 27, and with that half-century of caps to his name, Blair has already played in two World Cups and against every leading country, and said he was particularly looking forward to facing South Africa and New Zealand again at Murrayfield in the Autumn Tests, which also includes a game against Canada at Pittodrie. "I've played against the All Blacks before – in 2005 when I came on as a replacement after about 20 minutes after Chris Cusiter was injured.
"And I've played against South Africa four or five times now. You're pitting yourself against the best in the world and seeing how good you are and how good you need to be."
The full article contains 296 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
