MIKE Blair launches his tenure as Edinburgh captain in Bath tonight confident in the knowledge that he made the right decision not to quit the club last year when he had the chance.
The Scotland scrum-half has been a key figure at Edinburgh through recent rocky seasons and he revealed this week that he visited clubs keen on his signature as English and French suitors queued for his services. This was during the acrimonious summe
r of 2007, as the dis- content brewing between Edinburgh's owners, the Bob Carruthers consortium, and the SRU, reached fever pitch.
It spilled into the dressing room and players used to cash cuts through years of ever-changing leadership were growing sick of fearing for their futures in pro rugby in Scotland. When Carruthers stated that the lack of support from the SRU meant he could not assure players their salaries would continue, the door was opened for those who wished, particularly the high-earners, to leave.
Marcus Di Rollo was one who did; Chris Paterson had no choice because his contract was up and Edinburgh could not afford to renew it, so he joined Gloucester, and though Blair still had a year of his deal left he began to consider his options.
"I could have left," said Blair. "I spoke to clubs and visited some clubs – I think it would have been silly not to have.
"I am an Edinburgh guy and have lived in Edinburgh pretty much all my life and I didn't want to be in a situation where, with some guys having left, I'd be the stick that broke the camel's back. It was important for me to stay and then when Andy Robinson came on board I was really pleased to sign a contract extension because of the impact he made on me and the team.
"Andy was a huge part of the reason why I didn't leave. He didn't talk to me too much about it; it was more what my impressions of him were. I certainly wasn't persuaded to stay by what he said; it was more by his actions, his coaching and the feel of the squad, and that's why I stayed and signed the contract extension. Ultimately, I was keen to stay at Edinburgh and, while I don't want this to come out the wrong way, Andy was keen for me to stay."
So influential is he on and off the pitch that had Blair joined the likes of Di Rollo, Paterson, Scott Murray and Simon Taylor, and others who departed, it is conceivable that Robinson's first season would not have been as encouraging. Robinson was clearly aware of such concerns as he sought to keep the scrum-half within days of Blair returning from the World Cup.
Blair couldn't be happier now, having signed to the summer of 2010, and with Paterson back in harness to help guide the younger players he feels he has emerged from something of a dark tunnel this time last year.
"I was really pleased with how the season went for me personally and the team last year," he said. "To have so many young guys just breaking into professional rugby and the season like we did was very pleasing, but we really need to build on that now.
"Guys like Ben Cairns, Nick de Luca, Ross Rennie and Alan McDonald were great and did well. There's not more pressure on them as such, but there will be a lot more analysis of them this season and it will be a bit harder, so we'll find out how good these guys really are.
"Jim Hamilton is a really good signing for us as well because he'll bring a fair bit of weight and grunt to our pack, and with Mossy (Paterson], it's like he hasn't been away – he has slipped straight back in. The young guys who didn't know him have been impressed by his work ethic and attitude, so he's bringing more to the squad again."
The full article contains 677 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
