Blair forced to hang up his boots

Scotland’s most-capped scrumhalf Mike Blair became the most high-profile rugby player to be forced out of the game due to concussion issues when he announced his retirement from the game yesterday.

The 35-year-old, capped 85 times and captain of his country on 14 occasions, was due to retire at the end of this season to take up a coaching post but concussion has forced him out of the Glasgow Warriors’ final two Guinness PRO12 regular season matches and the play-offs.

Blair suffered a concussion in December in a European Rugby Champions Cup match at Scarlets.

When Blair returned for the match against Dragons last month, he suffered another blow to the head and the symptoms restarted.

“It’s been a factor but not the only one,” Blair, who had played 11 games since joining Glasgow on a one-year deal last summer, said yesterday.

“But the most important thing for me in concussion has to be the honesty of the player.

“The educating of the guys, knowing what the result of sustained concussion and playing with concussion is, makes it easier for players as they know now what is going on.”

Blair has consulted with neurologists and is set to meet another specialist in Surrey today, but his remaining symptoms meant “time ran out on me” to play one more time.

“I’ve still been having headaches and while I’m improving, I can’t be ready fitness-wise to play again (this season),” he explained.

Blair played for a decade for Edinburgh, twice being part of the teams that reached the knockout stages of the European Cup. He also played for Brive and Newcastle before finishing with Glasgow.

For Scotland, he and his close friend Chris Cusiter had a long-running scrap for the Scotland nine jersey and were even co-captains of Scotland at one point.

Blair won the majority of caps during this era and was named Scotland’s Player of the Year in 2008, the year he led Scotland to a Calcutta Cup victory over England at Murrayfield.

He was nominated for the IRB World Player of the Year that same season and toured South Africa with the British and Irish Lions in 2009.

Mike Blair playing for the Lions in South Africa in 2009.