GLASGOW Warriors are now favourites to win the PRO12 title again - and if they do that it will be a bigger achievement than when they won it for the first time last season, according to Mike Blair.

The Warriors and Scotland scrum-half, who only joined the squad at the start of this season, believes the team spirit at Scotstoun is second to none. That, combined with the form the team are now in, is why the 35-year-old thinks Gregor Townsend’s team will again emerge top of the heap at the end of the month, when the final takes place at BT Murrayfield.

“The only thing more impressive than winning the league is winning it back to back,” said Blair, who recently announced his retirement from playing but will stay with the Warriors as a coach next season. “I believe at the moment we’re favourites to win.

“I think the way that we’ve played the last nine games has put us in that position. If we beat Connacht away from home [on Saturday] we have a home semi-final - I think we’ve put ourselves in a great position.”

The Warriors have won all nine of those games, taking themselves from the lower half of the table to the very top. They are already guaranteed a play-off place, and if they win at Connacht they will finish the regular season on top and play at Scotstoun a fortnight later against which ever team finishes fourth. The final is at Murrayfield on Saturday 28 May.

“I think the make-up of the team we’ve got means confidence plays an absolutely huge part in our success,” Blair added. “Look at guys like Finn Russell and Stuart Hogg - when they’re confident they think they’re going to win the game and they have the talent to be able to do that.

“I think it’s a great tag to be favourites. We have quality players throughout, playing at the top of their game, and it’s a tag we want to embrace.”

Blair was speaking after it was announced that he and Calum Forrester, the head coach of Ayr, are the recipients of this year’s John Macphail Coaching Scholarship. The two will leave early next month for Canterbury in New Zealand, where they will spend time working with the Crusaders.

Connacht’s injury worries have begun to clear ahead of Saturday’s showdown, with both winger Matt Healy, the league’s top scorer, and centre Bundee Aki having been declared available for selection after missing out on previous games. The Glasgow team will be announced on Friday.

Meanwhile, former Warriors back Ruaridh Jackson is on the move from Wasps to Harlequins. The 28-year-old, who has 28 Scotland caps, Wasps when he left Scotstoun two years ago. The length of his new contract has not been disclosed.

“I’m extremely excited to be starting a new challenge with Harlequins,” Jackson said. “After speaking to John Kingston and Conor O’Shea [the incoming and departing directors of rugby at Harlequins] I could see how great a club it is.”

Kingston, who will begin in his new post when O’Shea moves to take charge of the Italian national team, believes that the versatile Jackson will be a valuable addition to his squad. “His style fits the way we play perfectly and he will provide excellent competition,” he said. “We are looking forward to adding his expertise next season.”