Tributes to Bill McLaren, who died yesterday in his native Hawick at 86, will struggle to avoid the phrase “the voice of rugby” for a broadcaster who became synonymous – and, thanks to his bright Borders baritone, euphonious – with his sport. Unlike some today, Mr McLaren cared more about his sport than about winning. He also had the glorious fortune, with a famous exception, to be in the right place at the right time and, as he said, not to have to pay to get in. He was rugby’s voice in its golden age. Look on YouTube for almost any magic moment from the 1970s and 1980s, and you will hear the ardent, almost operatic, climax as Mr McLaren describes rugby’s greatest deeds. “It’s beautifully laid back for Gareth Edwards … Edwards over the Welsh 10-yard line … over halfway … the kick ahead by Edwards … Can he score? … It would be a miracle if he could … And he has … The sheer magic of Gareth Edwards has brought the whole of this stadium to its feet.” No fan of a certain age can read those words, and hear that voice saying them, and not see in their mind’s eye the nonpareil Edwards diving into the Murrayfield mud in 1972 to score. The famous exception was the Barbarians v All Blacks match in Cardiff in 1973 and That Try (also by Edwards, of course). Mr McLaren had to cry off that day with flu. Not even his beloved Hawick Ball mints could get him through. Cliff Morgan got the gig – and proved he could talk a bit too. In the end, though, Bill McLaren was indeed the voice of rugby. No argy-bargy about it.