Mike Blair to join Dave Rennie in Japan with Kobe Steelers

Mike Blair and Dave Rennie will be reunited at Kobe Steelers next season

Former Edinburgh head coach Mike Blair is to join Japanese side Kobe Steelers as attack coach.

The 42-year-old, who made 85 appearances for Scotland at scrum-half, will work under recently appointed director of rugby Dave Rennie.

Blair was on Rennie's coaching team at Glasgow Warriors from 2016-2019.

"This is a wonderful opportunity for me and my family and I am grateful to be part of such a wonderful organisation," said Blair.

"I stayed in Kobe with the Scottish national team for the Rugby World Cup in 2019 and thought it 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."

Rennie left Warriors in 2020 and spent three years in charge of Australia before his dismissal at the start of this year.

Blair took over at Edinburgh in 2021 but announced his intention to step down in February, saying he wanted to "take a breath" before deciding on his next move.