As England prepare to play Scotland, we can reveal the ‘Voice of Rugby’, Bill McLaren, will have a new trophy played for in his memory.
It is the first new competition for girls* and boys linked to Bill. The broadcasting legend would no doubt have been delighted. Bill McLaren died in January 2010, but now his family have a hand in ensuring his legacy lives on.
The Bill McLaren School 7’s will be on 21 March in Hawick run by the Hawick club.
This will be the first time the event has been held. It comes as Hawick RFC celebrates its 150th anniversary.
“16 boys teams under 15 and 8 girls* teams under 16 are competing and the event has been sponsored by the Barbarians Rugby Charitable Trust, Scottish Building Society and The Bill McLaren Foundation”, says Alan Lawson.
McLaren’s family are determined his memory will continue to benefit grass-roots rugby.
Bill’s family says; “We’ve got ambitions for it to become an annual event.
“Progressively, we want to bring in new age group competitions and involved wider Borders clubs.
“We are targeting an age group which doesn’t get a chance up to now. Sevens is a great way to get kids involved, whereas in 15 a side a child can get stuck out of the game on the wing.
“The boys tournament will be on Hawick’s Mansfield Park home pitch and the girls* will be on Volunteer Park in the town, close to where Bill himself used to coach on Saturday mornings.”
*Update 23 February: The Foundation is currently struggling to find girls’ teams to compete in the tournament. It seems that although schools may have girls rugby they don’t have enough players at any one age group to form teams. Sadly it may be that the girls section of the event may not actually take place. However, it may be possible to stage a Tag event where girls of varying ages could play together in a non-contact form of rugby. We will post further updates as soon as information is available.
