Bill McLaren officially retired as a commentator in April 2002 after 50 years of service during which he became known as “the voice of rugby”. It is a great honour that he has come out of retirement to add his remarkable voice and turn of phrase for one last hurrah, with this year’s Rugby World Cup on ITV, in conjunction with EDF Energy’s Broadcast Sponsorship.
McLaren was born in Hawick in 1923 and still lives there today. It was in Hawick, that his passion for the game was first ignited. Like the rest of the Borders, Hawick is a rugby-mad town and McLaren played for the first XV as a talented flanker. He would have played for Scotland had he not contracted tuberculosis but it was this illness that first led him to the beginning of his now legendary commentary career. In fact, McLaren is the only non-player to be invested into International Rugby’s Hall of Fame.
This World Cup will be especially important and memorable for Bill as his Grandson, Rory Lawson, has been selected in the Scotland squad. So there will be two generations of McLaren’s being represented at this years tournament and we wish them both well.