Glasgow Warriors, and the entire Scottish rugby community, is immensely saddened to learn of the death this morning of the man who to millions worldwide was simply “The Voice of Rugby.” Hawick’s favourite son, Bill McLaren, passed away peacefully at the local hospital at 10.30am.  He was 86.

Bill McLaren never played rugby for Scotland but such was his vast enthusiasm, encyclopaedic knowledge, attention to detail and sheer undiluted enthusiasm, that he did more to excite the world about rugby through his BBC TV and radio commentaries than had he worn the thistle in scrum, ruck, maul or tackle.

His warm Border brogue, his colourful turn of descriptive phrase – we all have our favourites whether “a bit of argy-bargy” or “it’s a try by Hika the hooker from Ngongotaha” – and his impartiality: could you even detect a waver in his voice when his son-in-law Alan Lawson scored two tries in a Scotland win against England at Murrayfield in 1976?

Leading the tributes, Glasgow head coach Sean Lineen – a member of Scotland’s Grand Slam winning team in 1990 - said: “He was a legend of the game. I can remember as a youngster in New Zealand getting up in the middle of the night to watch the 5 Nations and what stood out most of all wasn’t the rugby, but the voice.

“He certainly made the game more interesting and watchable. He managed to keep a neutrality when he was commentating which was very admirable. My thoughts go out to his wife and family.”

Scotland captain and Warriors scrum-half, Chris Cusiter, added that Bill was an inspiration.  “When I was growing up he was the Voice of Rugby.  He was the guy you heard and you recognised instantly.  He was unparalleled.”

To his vast TV fan club he was the Voice.  But there was much more to Bill – he was the PE teacher in Hawick who first instilled a love of the game and its values in thousands of young players – players who went on to represent Scotland and the British Lions such as Jim Renwick and Tony Stanger.

There was Bill the journalist, initially at the Hawick Express and then at the Glasgow Herald, always prepared to analyse a game fairly in terms a layman could understand; and always prepared to offer an encouraging or supportive word to young journalists making their first tentative steps in a competitive profession.

Above all there was Bill the family man and proud Borderer.  It may sound clichéd but he absolutely worshipped his wife Bette – The Goddess he called her – and was never happier than when spending time with his daughters Janey and Linda and their families.

Bill’s passion for rugby shone from his days as a player in the Hawick team and but for contracting tuberculosis he may well have graduated from playing in the Scotland trial as a flanker.

His first international commentary was on radio alongside Rex Alston and GV Wynne-jones – Scotland v Wales in 1953.  His last international TV commentary, fittingly, was Wales v Scotland at Cardiff some 49 years later.  That occasion was marked by the crowd at the Millennium Stadium giving him a warm ovation and Scotland players Gregor Townsend and Chris Paterson presenting him with a specially embroidered jersey.

Between those two dates he was without peer as a commentator on rugby.  He was awarded the MBE, OBE and CBE and within the game itself he was awarded the Freedom of Scottish Rugby in 2000 and became the first non-international player to be inducted into the IRB’s Hall of Fame in 2001.

He retired from TV commentary in 2002 and it marked the end of an era.  The “homework” that Bill did before a game, his copious notes and research – a trait that he embellished from the doyen of current affairs broadcasters, Richard Dimbleby – and the specially adapted pack of cards that he would turn over to assist with player identification, have gone into broadcasting history.

As Scottish Rugby’s patron, HRH The Princess Royal said in paying tribute to McLaren in 2002: “He has passed on his love for the game and all it represents to everyone he has met or spoken with. His unique contribution to the commentator’s art has been applauded by both his peers and listeners alike the world over.”

Former Scotland and British and Irish Lions player and coach Sir Ian McGeechan said: “For me growing up Bill was the voice of rugby alongside Cliff Morgan.  You will never know how many people Bill brought to the game by the way he commentated.

“He was an absolute gentleman, totally unbiased.  He had the knack of always looking for the best in players and had a massive positive impact on us.

“As a coach Bill would always come and watch the Friday session before a match.  He never came empty-handed, there was always a Hawick Ball there and he was always positive in everything he said.

“I don’t think anyone could ever estimate just what his value has been to the game and what he has done.  I remember seeing him after the 1990 Grand Slam game and he exuded pride.

“But above all Bill didn’t just have a massive impact because of rugby. It was also because of his knowledge and understanding of people.”