Former Scotland skipper Mike Blair to face old side as All Blacks attack coach
Former Scotland captain Mike Blair is now working out how to beat Scotland.
The 85-cap scrum-half is attack coach for New Zealand under head coach Dave Rennie, BBC Sport reported on 18 September 2026. That sets up a sharp reunion. Scotland are scheduled to host the All Blacks, New Zealand's famous national side, at Murrayfield in November.
Blair knows this fixture from the other side. He played 85 Tests for Scotland and captained his country from half-back, the scrum-half role that fires the ball away from the ruck (the contest for the ball on the ground after a tackle) and the scrum (the eight-against-eight shove for possession). For newcomers, the attack coach is the assistant in charge of how a team tries to score: the shape, the passing moves and the decisions about when to kick, run or shift the ball wide.
His partnership with Rennie runs deep. The pair previously worked together at Glasgow Warriors, one of Scotland's two professional clubs. They then spent three years together in Japan with the Kobelco Kobe Steelers, where Blair served as attack coach under Rennie, as confirmed by the All Blacks in March. Blair had also previously coached Edinburgh, Glasgow's domestic rivals.
The move south was rapid. Blair finished his job in Japan on 14 June and started with New Zealand on 17 June. Three days from one job to the next. One playbook closed, another opened.
Life in black has been busy from the start. At the time of the report, Blair was seven Tests into his tenure. New Zealand had beaten France, Ireland, Italy and South Africa in that spell, but had lost three times to the world champions. That is a testing introduction: seven internationals, with four different touring styles to prepare for and the pressure of results in every one.
For fans, this means November carries an extra edge. A former skipper will sit in the opposition coaches' box at Murrayfield. There will be no divided loyalty on the field, just a coach trying to unpick a defence he knows well, and a Scotland side trying to outsmart one of their own.
