Mourners line streets to say farewells to veteran 'Voice of Rugby' Bill McLaren

Hundreds of mourners lined the streets of a small town yesterday to pay their last respects to veteran rugby commentator Bill McLaren.

The man known as the "Voice of Rugby", who retired in 2002 after almost 50 years as a broadcaster, died in hospital last week aged 86.

About 650 family and friends packed into the Teviot Church in his home town of Hawick in the Scottish Borders for his funeral, while hundreds more people gathered outside to listen to a broadcast of the service.

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Mourners, including former Scotland rugby stars Gavin Hastings, Gregor Townsend, Jim Renwick and Colin Deans, were given Hawick balls, McLaren's favourite sweets, as they filed in for the start of the service.

Gregor Lawson, one of McLaren's grandsons, led the tributes to "a great Hawick man, a great rugby man and a great family man".

Speaking on behalf of McLaren's wife Bette and the rest of the family, he said it was fitting to say goodbye to the "great Scot" on a day renowned for another great Scot – Rabbie Burns.

"So much has been said by people significantly more important and erudite than me about his unparalleled impartiality, his iconic voice, his professionalism, his gentlemanly nature and his ambassadorship for both rugby and Scotland.

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"Whilst we have shed many tears through sadness, a great many have also been shed simply through bursting with pride."

The coffin was carried from the church by members of Hawick Rugby Club to the sound of Flower of Scotland on the bagpipes. Hundreds of people later lined the streets in the centre of Hawick to pay their respects as the funeral cortege passed by with spontaneous applause echoing through the Borders town.

A memorial service will be held at a later date for the rugby world at large to remember McLaren, who combined his work as a broadcaster with that of a PE teacher until 1987.

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