Is Mike Blair just a halfback?

In Scotland’s last preparation game before heading off to New Zealand, the scrum-half birth has been given back to Edinburgh’s Mike Blair. Now fully fit, Blair will be looking to impress against Italy tomorrow in order to gain the number nine starting place which he held for so long between 2006 and 2009.

Under Andy Robinson there seems to be questions as to who he feels is his first choice scrum-half is. Both injury to players in this position and form have obviously been factors, but between Blair, Cusiter and Lawson there are big questions as to who Robinson sees as his number one scrum-half of choice.

As mentioned, Blair was the go-to man for the scrum-half birth between 2006 and 2009, and his form and pivotal role saw him take over the Scotland captaincy from Jason White in 2008. He lead Scotland to some memorable victories in this time, none more so than his man of the match performance in Scotland’s Calcutta Cup 15-9 victory against England by at Murrayfield in 2008.

Competition for places is a good thing for a team, and Scotland certainly have talent in the form of players at scrum-half, but has Blair’s lack of consistent exposure to International rugby allowed him to fill his full potential?

Blair is a different mold of player to the other scrum-halves in contention for Scotland. A natural ball-player with a dangerous running game, Blair is able to suck in defenders and expose defences, and of all the Scottish scrum-halves he is arguably the most gifted footballer. Blair has played all of his professional career at scrum-half, but he in his younger years his skills were utilised in other positions.

At schools, district and amateur rugby levels, as well as scrum-half, Blair played at stand-off, full-back, and due to his pace even on the wing, all with a degree of success. The standard of play at these levels is nothing compared to International or professional rugby, but if Blair’s positional versatility had continued to be regarded and developed, could Scotland have benefited?

Of all the positions away from scrum-half, Blair was perhaps most successful at stand-off. He hadn’t been brought up to play this position and would still at times revert back to the fundamentals of the type of play he knew best, but with guidance could Blair have been groomed as a quality stand-off?

In recent years Scotland has struggled in the first receiver position. Players with all of the attributes of a world-class 10 have been few and far between, but again, with the right guidance and coaching, could Blair’s natural talent and ability of bringing others into the game have been made use of? The skills are certainly there in the form of a passing game, footballing vision, decision making, communication skills and defence.

Both Blair’s brothers, David and Alex have played their professional rugby roles at stand-off, so the skill set is clearly embedded. Genuine playmakers and ball-handlers need to be utilised in back divisions, and in recent articles I have stated that at least two should be available if a team is to function at a high level.

At the moment Scotland are lucky to have one natural ball-playing playmaker, and this has been seen in their difficulty in scoring tries. Scotland need players who create openings, recognise opportunities and make the right decisions. At scrum-half it is difficult for these skills to be utilised, so if Blair’s specific skills and versatility had been recognised as a potential stand-off option, not only could the scrum-half debate be made easier, but the stand-off options may be far greater.

At the end of last season Blair and fellow Edinburgh scrum-half Greig Laidlaw played a dual role, swapping between the nine and 10 position. In Blair’s own words he, “loved the role,” and the formation and set up seemed to work fairly well despite Blair not having played at first receiver in near 10 years.

At 30 years old, and with all the experience and high level scrum-half skills embedded in Blair it may not be possible for him to be considered as a stand-off anymore. It is a wonder though, could Scotland and Edinburgh have used Blair as stand-off/halfback, instead of and out and out scrum-half, and would a positive knock-on effect been provided for these teams’ back lines?