Bill Mclaren – A Sad Loss

I have been really moved by the obits I have heard and read. He was a genuinely fine man, in every respect.

It’s rare these days to find someone that nobody has a bad word for. Bill McLaren most definately fitted into this category.

I have been really moved by the obits I have heard and read. He was a genuinely fine man, in every respect.

As a little boy, I remember we used to run around the garden on summer evenings, playing rugby amongst friends shouting at the top of our voices in our best Bill McLaren accent the state of play as it happened.

And this was 10 000km away in South Africa.

Bill McLaren, a legend in every way.

As you can tell from my signature at the bottom of the page, rugby is a passion of mine, and a game that I’m proud to still be playing..

A sad, sad day for not just Scottish Rugby, but rugby worldwide. Having had the priviledge to have met him several times over the years, I can say he was as affable and fair-minded off the screen as he was on it. Though he was fiercely proud of his country and his beloved Hawick, he was ultimately a fan of the game, and would applaud good play no matter who produced it.

To my mind one of the most knowledgable, impartial and colouful commentators that the world of sport has ever seen – many would do well to take a leaf out of his book.

A couple of my favourite quotes just to give you a flavour of the man:

On Peter Stringer the Irish scrum half : “There’s little Peter Stringer. They say in his home country, that if you catch him, you can make a wish.”

“Look at Doddie Wier, he’s like a big galloping giraffe down the wing.”

“And there’s Dean Richards. He has hands like butterfly nets and the strength of a bullock”

And for the last grand Slam that Scotland won : “Pick up by Jeffrey. Jeffrey to Armstrong. Armstrong nicely out to Gavin Hastings. Gavin Hastings with the kick through. On goes Stanger. Stanger could be there. A try! A magnificent try for the 21 year old!”

Goodbye sir, and thanks for the memories.