Blair was left out of the original selection, one of three national captains not chosen by the Lions management.

But after Tomas O'Leary was injured while playing in a Magners League game for Munster, Blair got the call-up.

The Edinburgh No.9 made his Lions debut yesterday against a Royal XV and produced a satisfactory effort - but one which he will hope to improve on as the tour progresses.

Edwards, part of the 1974 Invincibles team, told rbs6nations.com: "Mike Blair was in most people's squad for the Lions when we were all thinking of who we'd take around the time of the November Tests.

"Some people were even considering him as a captain as he had done a good job with Scotland in place of Jason White.

"But Scotland didn't move forward in the RBS 6 Nations and Blair suffered from that. I think he's a very good player though and I'm sure he'll relish playing with such good players on this tour."