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Bill McLaren to retire from the BBC
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The
Voice of Rugby - the legendary commentator
Bill McLaren - will retire from commentary
on Network BBC at the end of this year’s
Six Nations championships after 50 years
of service. His final commentary on BBC
Network will be the Wales v Scotland game
on Saturday 6 April, and for BBC Scotland,
the Melrose Sevens on Saturday 13 April.
Bill is the only non-player to be invested
into International Rugby’s Hall of
Fame, and has chosen to commentate on all
of Scotland’s games this year. |
Peter
Salmon, Head of BBC Sport said: "Bill McLaren
is a national sporting treasure. His knowledge
of rugby union is unsurpassed. His love of the
sport is undeniable. His first BBC contract
was as a ‘speaker’ - the notion of
match commentary hadn’t even been invented.
BBC Sport and the whole of rugby union will
miss him, and his record of 50 years may never
be beaten. He has set records and standards,
and we wish him and all his family a very happy
future."
Former
Wales International for both rugby union and
rugby league, and now BBC analyst, Jonathan
Davies said: "When I was a youngster watching
rugby on television, Bill was the voice. When
I was playing for Wales, Bill was commentating
on me. Now I’ve gone full circle and all
of a sudden found myself commentating with him.
I can’t believe it. It’s an honour
and a privilege to work with someone who puts
so much hard work and dedication into their
preparation. He’s an incredible man, and
to top it all, he’s a real gentleman."
 Gavin
Hastings, former Scotland International said: "Bill has been
a wonderful advert for rugby, and even non-followers recognise his
voice immediately. Bill doesn’t realise what a big star he
is. His line, ‘A day out of Hawick is a day wasted’, sums
up the man; he is humble and generous. There is no doubt that he
will be a great loss to the BBC, but also to rugby as a whole. He
has a lot of fans all over the world and it must be a great comfort
to take that forward into retirement."
Bill
McLaren was born in Hawick, Scotland in 1923.
He was a devoted rugby player until he contracted
TB while serving in Italy during the war. After
the war he studied Physical Education in Aberdeen,
which he went on to teach. It was through his
junior reporting with the Hawick Express that
he launched himself into a career of commentary,
first on BBC Radio and then BBC Television.
In
1951, Bill auditioned at BBC Scotland to become
a commentator. His first live commentary on
a game was between old rivals Glasgow and Edinburgh
in 1952. Internationally, he covered Scotland
v Wales in 1953.
Although
the commentating was keeping him busy, Bill
continued to teach PE as well as coaching several
rugby players, some of whom went on to play
for Scotland - Jim Renwick, Colin Deans, Tony
Stanger and Alister Campbell. Bill retired from
teaching in 1987.
His most memorable sporting moments include
watching his son-in-law, Alan Lawson, scoring
two tries for Scotland against England in 1976,
and Scotland beating England to take the Grand
Slam title in 1990.
Although
retiring from commentary Bill is completing
a television series on The History of the Barbarians,
and will do occasional reports for Rugby Special
when it re-launches on 7 March. For profile
and quotes on Bill McLaren, and audio commentary
by the best-known voice in rugby, log on to
www.bbc.co.uk/rugbyunion.
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