‘Weird and cool’ – Blair relishing All Blacks adventure

'Weird and cool' – Blair relishing All Blacks adventure. Speaking on the BBC Scotland Rugby Podcast, Blair describes his new life as Dave Rennie's attack coach with the All Blacks, a high-profile and high-pressure job, a unique honour, all the more welcome because Scottish coaches in elite rugby are desperately thin on the ground.

What happened

"I'll tell you once we're there, but it'll definitely be weird and cool. Former Scotland scrum-half Mike Blair reveals his excitement after teaming up with Dave Rennie as New Zealand attack coach and the prospect of facing up against his home country. Image source, SNSImage caption, Mike Blair and Dave Rennie previously worked together with Glasgow WarriorsByTom EnglishBBC Scotland's chief sports writerPublished3 hours agoForeign coaches are about as rare in All Black rugby as the Maui dolphin and the Kakapo parrot, which makes Mike Blair a unique individual in the Land of the Long White Cloud.

Blair is seven Tests into his time in New Zealand – wins over France, Ireland, Italy and South Africa and three defeats all against the world champions in the murderous series they called Rugby's Greatest Rivalry. In November, Blair, a former Scotland captain with 85 caps to his name, will return home wearing not the blue of his homeland but the black of his adopted country. "Ainsworth makes first Scotland start as Bonar returns on benchPublished23 hours agoFin Smith sets England autumn ultimatum to hit formPublished14 hours agoWXV series about 'turning the page' for IrelandPublished5 hours agoBlair is now coaching some of the illustrious backs of their generation – Jordie Barrett, Beauden Barrett, Will Jordan, Damian McKenzie among others.

All iconic All Blacks and all, he says, fully aware of the threat Scotland pose these days.

The wider picture

"That contest will be seismic, as is Blair's own story. Blair had coached Edinburgh before all of that and left his position early, unsure of what life had in store for him. "Clearly, Rennie has had an enormous influence on Blair. What do you guys think? ' And it's like, 'Yeah, cool'. "Rennie succeeded Scott Robertson, an unhappy time for the All Blacks, who felt they lost some identity on his watch. Blair's first games as attack coach were wins against France, Ireland and Italy in the summer, then came the head-wreck of four straight Tests against the Springboks, three in South Africa and one in Baltimore in America.

For Blair, though the defeats hurt, there were signs of progression. It was South Africa's suffocating physicality and incredible street smarts that won them the series, but there was something to build on for Blair in his new world.

What has been reported

"It's pretty tough doing that against the best team in the world, so, it's been cool. Scotland versus New Zealand at Murrayfield will be a trippy occasion, he admits. "You know, it might have been a different thing if it had been 15 years ago, when I was playing. I've spoken to the guys about Scotland and New Zealand games in recent years and each player I've spoken to said, 'Geez, that was a hell of a game'.

"The respect for Scotland's attacking game is huge. Previously, when I played, there's an interview, and I can't remember who it was [an All Black], but they basically couldn't name any of the Scotland players. Now you speak to Jordie and he's naming everyone in the Scotland backline. "I went straight from finishing in Japan [he coached alongside Rennie in Kobe for three years] on 14 June to starting the job with New Zealand on 17 June.

What happens next

They worked together when the Kiwi was at Glasgow Warriors and renewed their partnership in Japan. He offers opinion when he feels that it's necessary, but otherwise he trusts you to do a job because he's chosen you for a reason. "He'd spoken to me in Japan and said he was asked to apply for the New Zealand job. So he'd asked me at that stage, would it be something that I was interested in – and I said, yes.

"I was actually back in Edinburgh and it was the middle of the night when they decided who was going to be the head coach. I woke up at seven in the morning, checked my phone and saw that Rens had got the job. I'd messaged and said, 'Awesome, well done' and then kind of waited for him to say, 'We'll have to sort your contract out', but there was a day's pause because it was difficult with the time difference.