Mark Blair is an Irish former rugby union player, who played lock professionally for Edinburgh, Ulster, RC Narbonne and the Border Reivers.
| School | The Royal School, Armagh | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| University | Heriot-Watt University | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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He attended The Royal School, Armagh, and after leaving school attended technical collage for year while playing for City of Armagh RFC,[1] and represented Ulster at under-20 and under-21 levels.[2] He went to Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, and played rugby for Currie RFC.[1] He had a trial for Scotland, for whom he qualified through residency.[2] He played club rugby in New Zealand in 1996 and 1997, and was selected a few times for Counties, where he played alongside Jonah Lomu.[3]
He signed a professional contract with Edinburgh Reivers for 1997-98,[1] The following season he had offers from Edinburgh and Ulster, and chose to sign for Ulster, joining Ballymena R.F.C. However, he sustained an ankle ligament injury playing five-a-side football in the summer, arrived unfit, and began the season for Ulster behind part-timer Murtagh Rea. He eventually won a starting spot in the second row alongside Gary Longwell[1] playing in eight successive wins on the way to Ulster's victory in the 1999 Heineken Cup Final.[4]
He made 55 appearances for Ulster over five seasons,[5] and helped Ballymena win the All-Ireland League in 2003,[6] before joining RC Narbonne ahead of the 2003-04 season. He had signed for three years, but left after a single season after the new coach objected to him going home to attend his brother's wedding.[3] He returned to Scotland, signing a two-year deal with the Border Reivers.[7] The team was disbanded at the end of his second season, and he retired from professional rugby, although he continued to play club rugby with Currie until about 2009.[3] He set up a property development company with his brother-in-law,[8] and worked for the IRFU Exiles programme until 2017.[3]
References edit
- ^ a b c d Jonathan Bradley, The Last Amateurs, The Blackstaff Press, 2018, pp. 81-87
- ^ a b Micheal McGeary, "Now Eur a star: from Currie to caviar for Mark", Sunday Life, 3 January 1999
- ^ a b c d Michael Sadlier, "Blair force one: Well-travelled Mark so proud of Euro joy with Ulster and playing with Jonah Lomu", Belfast Telegraph, 21 June 2020
- ^ Bruce McKendry, Champions: The Players' Story, IRFU (Ulster Branch), 1999, pp. 90-111
- ^ "Blair to quit Ulster", RTÉ, 10 April 2003
- ^ "Icing on the cake for Mark", Sunday Life, 12 September 2004
- ^ Gavin Mairs, "Blair keen to make his Mark back home", Belfast Telegraph, 25 March 2005
- ^ "Class of 99: Glory day memories still vivid seven years on", Belfast Telegraph, 30 January 2006