Chris Thau meets Alex and David Blair, younger brothers of
Scotland scrum half Mike, as they aim to fire the A team back to
winning ways at the IRB Nations Cup in Bucharest.
If anyone had predicted that Scotland A, the holders of the
IRB Nations Cup Trophy, and previous winners the Argentina Jaguars
would line up against each other gunning to avoid the "Wooden
Spoon" in their final match of the fifth edition of the
tournament, they would surely have been sent to have their head
examined.
So far in the tournament, while the Scots and Argentines have lost each of their matches, the less celebrated Namibian and Italy A sides have beaten all comers to line up on Sunday's final match day vying for the title.
It is a most unexpected turn of events.
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"We came here to retain the trophy and lost two games we
could and should have won. This is why we want to finish the
tournament with a win," said 20-year-old Alex Blair, the
younger of the two Blair brothers in the tournament, who are both
bidding to emulate their brother Mike in reaching the very upper
echelons of Scottish rugby.
"I totally agree", concurred older brother David,
25, a member of the 2009 Scotland A Nations Cup-winning team.
"In attack we've done very well but in defence
we've made too many unforced errors which led to some soft
scores against us.
"It was a combination of factors - from the scorching
heat to loss of concentration which doomed our efforts within the
type of high tempo game we try to play. But this has been a good
learning curve for all of us," he added.
"This has been a great experience for me,"
confessed younger brother Alex, who was only two weeks ago playing
for Scotland Sevens on the World Series and has just signed his
first professional contract for Edinburgh, the family franchise.
"I have come to terms with the pace and the level of
skill, but find the physicality of the game a lot harder than the
one I am used to," he added.
The three rugby-playing sons of former Edinburgh Academicals
scrum half and captain Robert Blair are all on duty for their
country this weekend. Older brother Mike has been successful in
Argentina with the full Scottish side while his younger siblings
will be playing their last card to avoid the dreaded Wooden Spoon
in the IRB Nations Cup.