| Long term mangler of metaphors
and strangler of similes, Bill McLaren signed off as BBC’s voice of rugby at
Saturday’s Calcutta Cup clash. Seventy-something Bill became a byword for incisive
unbiased commentary over 40 years of commentating on international clashes - including
many fixtures between Scotland and England.
In an often emotional speech, the doyen of the sport revealed the pressures of
maintaining cool detachment : "In 40 years of commentating, I’ve never once
betrayed a hint of bias when covering clashes with the Auld Enemy. Now that I’ve
finished up, all that remains is to write my memoirs. "Mr McLaren’s
autobiography "I hate the English bastards as well" will be published later in
the year. |
Earlier, during the struggle
between the oldest rivals in the Union code, light relief was provided by young boy,
dressed in a Scotland strip who had the crowd in stitches as he regularly failed to
convert penalty chances into points. One Scotland supporter told the JT: "We all
thought it was a bit of half-time entertainment until we realised that it was Duncan Hodge
and he was scuffing kicks during the fuckin’ game."
After the ritual gubbing, Mr Hodge told waiting media that he had consulted the Union
rule book and all was now clear. "Kick the ball between the uprights to score points,
between the uprights. OK, I’ve got that now. Easy mistake to make, thank goodness
there’s no harm done..." |
