The world was speakin' aboot the voice o' rugby on Tuesday when a true Hawick hero passed away. Some o' oo wull mind um for his rugby commentary, some o' oo for um being oor schuil teacher, and some o' oo wull mind um for being Bill. Hawick man.
On Tuesday night A watched the news, an' A lookeet on the internet ti sei what folk were sayin aboot the great man. A kent there wad be a lot o' reports, bit in the name o' the wee man, es hei wad say, A niver thought there wad be si much si suin. Wo
nderful tributes fri legends o' rugby and TV personalities alang wi reports fri a' ower the world fri folk fri a' walks o' life. Even the Prime Minister, the First Minister and Royalty contributed. That disni happen ti mony folk.
Top players fri Scotland, Wales, and great names right roond the world ti famous All Blacks hev been addin' their tributes. A seen Scotland's Kenny Logan on the telly tellin' the camera how Bill yaist ti gee thum a Hawick Ball afore a Scotland game an' hei wad say, "this'll gee ee an extra twae yairds" an' this must hev been something o' a tradition wi Bill for Kenny yince said ti um, ee gee everybody they Hawick Balls. An' Bill replied – juist the Scotland team.
Hei was weel kent for his funny descriptions o' folk. Hings like "hei's like a mad octopus, or a mad giraffe, or even a water buffalo". An' yin o' his maist famous yins, "es slippery es a baggy up a border burn."
Bill's guidwill ambassadorial message aboot Hawick ti the ootside world was immense, an' hei spread that message without even tryin'. For yin look at the testimonials in the world press this week tells ee how highly hei was regarded for his professionalism, hes fairness, hes humour and hes common sense, among other virtues. Hei aye let folk ken where hei was fri, an' ee could aye tell in his voice hei was prood o' that. An' hei was famous among the famous for handin' thum Hawick Balls.
Hei wasni juist the best commentator o' rugby, hei was acknowledged be mony es being the best commentator o' ony sport. Naebody researched mare, an' naebody was mare respected be the players, fri the top names right doon ti the gress roots. Ee could hear the warmth in his voice, the passion, the professionalism, the excitement, and yet hei aye maintained the impartiality for which hei was renowned. Thame amongst oo whae hed um es a PE an' sports teacher at the schuil wull mind how hei drummed inti ee the importance o' bein' a guid sport, wun or loss. An' hei aye hed a word o' encouragement, even for numpties like mei whae was yisliss at sport, bit that didni mitter ti him, hei encouraged ee a the same an' helped ee believe in yersel in whatever ee chose ti dae. An' ee couldni help bit be inspired be a man whae geen ee the time o' day at schuil, yet ee seen um on the telly on a Seturday.
Naebody ever matched Bill McLaren's commentary for knowledge, clarity, impartiality, humour and sheer excitement. Hei was a legend afore, hei's a legend now, an' hei'll still be a legend weel efter the rest o' oo er lang forgotten. Bill McLaren was born in the toon hei loved, a toon that wull aye love him. Hei might hev went ti the commentary box up abin oo, bit his name wull niver dei here.
There was nae dancing on the streets o' Hawick on Tuesday, Bill. Bit the world was singing. Singing yer praises. RIP
