Six Nations Rugby Gets Underway

Quite poignant this year as Scotland launch their camapign against France at Murrayfield tomorrow. Not sure what the SRU have in mind to mark the life of Bill McLaren but whatever it is it won't be matched by the hundreds of thousands of individual thoughts held by Rugby's own Tartan Army tomorrow.

I knew nothing about rugby (I'm pretty sure our school didn't even own a funny shaped ball) but what I did learn was from sitting down at 2pm on a Saturday in January to watch live rugby on the BBC with Bill McLaren the memorable bacground to it all. Those were the days; massive TV audiences, muddy pitches, darkness falling (no floodlights remember?) and those magnificent tones - and ALWAYS a balanced view of the game whether Scotland won or lost.

So the thoughts hovering around Murrayfield tomorrow will be tinged with the memory of a true broadcasting legend and perhaps the passion may just convert into an opening victory.

If you're looking for some of the stats that Bill McLaren may have imparted you could do worse than a trip to the page for tomorrow's match on the Six Nations website.