AFP/Glasgow
Scotland’s most-capped scrum-half Mike Blair has agreed to join Glasgow from Newcastle on a two-year contract, the Celtic League club announced yesterday.
The former Scotland captain and British and Irish Lion previously spent 10 years with Edinburgh and will return to his homeland—subject to a medical—at the start of next season.
“I’m very excited about moving back to Scotland and joining a very ambitious club,” said 33-year-old Blair, who will be reunited with his former Scotland colleague Gregor Townsend, the Glasgow head coach.
“One of the reasons I’m moving to Glasgow is the opportunity to work with Gregor 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.”
Blair will return to Scotland three years after leaving Edinburgh for French club Brive, where he spent 12 months before signing for Newcastle.
He won 85 Scotland caps (14 as captain), played at three World Cups and toured with the Lions in 2009 before announcing his international retirement two years ago.
“It’s great news for the club that Mike will be joining us in the summer,” Townsend told the Glasgow website. “He has been in excellent form and has started most of Newcastle’s games this season.
“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.”
Steyn banned for four games after appeal
Coastal Sharks centre Francois Steyn was banned for four matches yesterday after the Super 15 governing body successfully appealed a decision not to punish him for a red card.
Steyn, a 2007 Rugby World Cup winner with the Springboks, was sent off on March 21 after tackling Waikato Chiefs and All Blacks fly-half Aaron Cruden dangerously.
The heavier South African lifted his opponent and then flung him to the ground at Kings Park stadium in Indian Ocean city Durban. A judicial hearing surprisingly cleared Steyn and removed the red card from his record, but the ruling body appealed the verdict. An appeals committee chaired by Australian Terry Willis and including two lawyers, New Zealander Nigel Hampton and South African Robert Stetnzer, reversed the decision and found Steyn guilty.
Steyn will miss home matches against Canterbury Crusaders and Northern Bulls and away games against the Golden Lions and Otago Highlanders.
He was among three players sent off within 28 minutes of the kick-off in a match won 12-11 by the Sharks. Sharks skipper Bismarck du Plessis was banned for four matches after kicking an opponent in the head. Rival hooker Hikawera Elliott got a one-game suspension after shoulder charging an opponent.
The annual Super 15 southern hemisphere inter-provincial championship comprises five teams each from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
Kaino to stick with All Blacks
Loose forward Jerome Kaino re-signed to play in New Zealand for a further three years yesterday, as the All Blacks look to shore up their stocks post the World Cup this year. “This is a huge announcement for us. Jerome is one of our leading players and the first to re-sign through to 2018,” New Zealand Rugby chief executive Steve Tew. “While we will see players depart our shores, we are buoyed by the news which demonstrates that the rugby environment we provide here in New Zealand remains stimulating and attractive to our top players.”
The All Blacks are already resigned to an exodus following the September-October World Cup in England with Dan Carter, Conrad Smith and Ma’a Nonu heading the list of players taking up lucrative contracts in Europe.
Mike Blair
