With his soft but crystal-clear Borders accent, Bill McLaren commentated on rugby for the BBC for nearly 50 years before he retired in 2002, earning a reputation as the greatest gentleman of the sport and the definitive commentator.
On the same par as the former cricket commentator John Arlott and racing’s Peter O’Sullevan, McLaren became synonymous with the game for generations of fans and players, many of whom listened to his commentaries as children before later playing in front of him.
McLaren, known for his enduring love of the sport, produced a string of now familiar phrases including “It’s high enough, it’s long enough, it’s straight enough,” and “They’ll be dancing in the streets of Melrose tonight.”
International players including Bill Beaumont, the former England captain and lock, Gavin Hastings, the former Scotland captain, and Gareth Edwards, the Wales captain and scrum half — who all played with the British Lions — paid tribute on Tuesday.
Beaumont, once singled out by a trademark McLaren for playing “like a raging bull,” said the commentator was an “iconic figure in the game,” adding that he was a “remarkable, lovely person, not one ounce of malice in him ... he was just an absolute professional.”
Hastings, who commentated alongside McLaren after retiring from the game, said: “Bill was a very proud and passionate Scot, but such was his professionalism that you would never really have known that. He always remained very unbiased in his commentary and I think that was unquestionably one of his endearing qualities.”
Edwards said McLaren was the doyen of rugby commentators. He recalled placing small sixpence wagers with McLaren as a player, and if he won a bet, McLaren would send him his sixpence by post from his home in Hawick.
“He seemed like one of those guys who would go on forever, and his voice will live with us forever,” he said. “We’ve lost someone great really.”
McLaren, who worked as a school PE teacher during the week and helped produce several Scotland players such as Jim Renwick, was renowned for his meticulous pre-game preparation and encyclopedic recall of statistics.
Working for the BBC, he often watched teams training before matches, and would test his memory at night, flicking quickly through playing cards to put players’ names to each number.
McLaren, a veteran of World War II, had once hoped to play for Scotland, but his rugby career was cut short by tuberculosis. McLaren earned a series of honors during his career, including becoming a member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, and was the only non-player to be inducted into the international rugby hall of fame.
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