"They will be dancing in the street’s tonight."
- "He kicked that ball like it were three pounds o' haggis."
- "He could sidestep three men in a telephone box."
- "When he goes like that he's like a mad giraffe."
- "Those props are as cunning as a bag o' weasels."
- "He's like a demented ferret up a wee drainpipe."
- "It's high enough, it's long enough and it's straight enough!"
- "He's all arms and legs like a mad octopus."
"They will be dancing in the street’s tonight." - "He kicked that ball like it were three pounds o' haggis." - "He could sidestep three men in a telephone box." - "When he goes like that he's like a mad giraffe." - "Those props are as cunning as a bag o' weasels." - "He's like a demented ferret up a wee drainpipe." - "It's high enough, it's long enough and it's straight enough!" - "He's all arms and legs like a mad octopus."
Bill McLaren was a man who represented all that is best about rugby union.
He was known as “The Voice of Rugby”, not just because of the beauty of his tone and the delight of his imaginative phrasing, but because he made rugby something that belonged to everyone who listened in, watched on, played or supported it.
The Bill McLaren Foundation
Bill believed deeply in the power of sport to shape character, create opportunity and bring people together. In his memory, we work to ensure that every young person has the chance to play, grow and feel a sense of belonging in a sporting environment, regardless of background or circumstance.
Your support helps us to create life changing opportunities for young people, champion the values of rugby and sport across Scotland and beyond, and preserve and share Bill McLaren’s remarkable legacy through education and the development of an archive.
Through funding and grants, we help aspiring athletes pursue their ambitions, enable teams and community groups to thrive, and remove the barriers that prevent many from simply taking part. Sport is about more than performance - it builds confidence, resilience, teamwork and belief. These are qualities that shape lives far beyond 'the pitch'.
His legacy, their future.
The Foundation aims to carry forward the values Bill held dear to inspire the next generation.
Video by Rocktiger Design Ltd.
We primarily raise funds through dinners, events, auctions and the sale of replica ‘Big Sheets’. We also love to support your one-off, annual or now-and-again fundraising events.
Got an idea? Let us know!
Bill’s Big Sheets
Bill McLaren was “The Voice of Rugby” over five decades with the BBC and covered 700 matches in that time. His preparation was legendary - for each of his commentaries he would research players, teams, the significance of the match etc, and bring it all together in a well formulated sheet of notes often containing over 1000 facts - Bill's Big Sheet. He was into ‘cut and paste’ long before computers; using scissors and Sellotape to add information from previous games he’d covered.
In his office at home, Bill would spend approximately 40 hours preparing a Big Sheet. If he had no or little information on a player, he would phone them at home asking for height, weight, names of brothers and sisters, nicknames, and even what their favourite food was. If a phone call wasn’t possible, Bill would attend training sessions putting faces to names and to gather further player data, often with an impromptu interview with the famous Hawick Ball sweeties used as a bribe!
These sheets are much treasured by rugby loving supporters. We have a selection of replica Big Sheets currently for sale at our events and via the website - take a look.
The Bill McLaren Foundation is kindly supported by:
