Newcastle Falcons' player to join Glasgow Warriors

Former Scotland captain Mike Blair has agreed to return to his homeland to join Glasgow Warriors from Newcastle Falcons on a two-year deal, subject to a medical.

The 33-year-old, capped 85 times by his country before retiring from international rugby in 2013, is set to move north of the border at the end of the Premiership season following a two-year spell with the Falcons.

Blair spent a year in France with Brive after a decade at Edinburgh Rugby and Scotland's most-capped scrum-half revealed the chance to learn from Glasgow head coach Gregor Townsend was a major factor in his latest move.

He told the Warriors' official website: "I'm very excited about moving back to Scotland and joining a very ambitious club.

"One of the reasons I'm moving to Glasgow is the opportunity to work with Gregor (Townsend) again. I played with him when I started out with Scotland and he coached me when he was part of the Scotland set-up and that was definitely a big factor in my decision to join the Warriors. My aim is to move into coaching and I see Gregor as being a great role model.

"Part of my role will be to help the younger guys develop and it will be good to work closely with the other scrum-halves at the club such as Henry (Pyrgos) and Grayson (Hart).

"I had opportunities to stay in England, but I want to make a further contribution to the game in Scotland and eventually make the transition into coaching.

"I'm looking forward to playing in the Pro12 again next season and I think the style of rugby will really suit my game."