Mike Blair moves to Japan to take up role with former Glasgow Warriors coach

Mike Blair has made the surprise move to Japan and will join the Kobelco Kobe Steelers for the 2023-24 campaign.

Blair, 42, who left his post as Edinburgh head coach at the end of the season after two years in charge, will work as assistant to Dave Rennie at Kobe. The former scrum-half worked under Rennie previously when the latter was coach of Glasgow Warriors.

It’s a bold move by Blair who announced in February his intention to step down as head coach to concentrate on becoming a specialised attack coach. He has described it as “an incredible opportunity” and will now focus on the Steelers’ attack. There had been speculation that Blair would remain with Edinburgh as attack coach under a new boss, but he will now head to Japan to link up with Rennie who was confirmed as the Steelers’ new Head of Athletic Performance last month following the end of his spell as Australia head coach. Edinburgh have yet to name Blair’s replacement.

“This move to Kobe has been a wonderful opportunity for me and my family, and I am grateful to be a part of such a wonderful organisation,” Blair said. “I stayed in Kobe with the Scottish national team for the Rugby World Cup 2019 and thought Kobe would be a great place to live. I am also very excited to be working with my former Glasgow Warriors coach Dave Rennie again and look forward to learning a lot from him and other coaches. The Kobe Steelers are filled with extremely talented players and I look forward to bringing out their full potential and contributing to the club’s success.”