'Voice of rugby' fulfils his dying daughter's wish

To television audiences the length and breadth of the country, the event would simply not have been the same without the familiar intonations of the man known as the Voice of Scottish Rugby.

But behind the characteristic gritty sparkle of another polished performance lay a family tragedy far more dramatic than the hard-fought clash between Boroughmuir and Glasgow Hawks that he faithfully relayed to the nation.

Mr McLaren's terminally ill daughter, Janie McLaren-Thompson, 46, had insisted her father should be at Murrayfield to cover the cup final rather than spend the day at her bedside in Edinburgh's Western General Hospital.

Just an hour before kick-off she lost her long and painful battle against cancer, but her mother decided to honour her last wish and Mr McLaren took his familiar seat in the commentary box, oblivious to the death of his daughter.

When the final was over, Mr McLaren, 75, dashed from the stadium to the hospital where his wife, Bette, and their other daughter, Linda, were waiting to break the news that every parent dreads.

Last night, Mr McLaren told The Scotsman: "At the weekend Janie insisted on me doing my job because she would be watching the game with her mum and sister and listening to me commentating. I went to Murrayfield at about 11am because there were three games on, including the cup final.

"Bette and Linda, together with Linda's husband, Alan, had been at the hospital all the time during the days leading up to Janie's death.

"When Janie passed away, Bette took the decision not to contact me at Murrayfield because that was what Janie would have wanted. They thought it was better for me to do the match. I was going to go straight to the Western to spend an hour with Janie on Saturday evening, but when I got there they were waiting for me."

Mr McLaren, from Hawick, went on to speak of Janie's courage and sunny personality throughout her three-year ordeal, which involved seemingly endless visits to hospital as well as several spells as an in-patient at the Western General.

In particular, he recalled her desire for mourners at her funeral, which is to be held tomorrow at Edinburgh's Dean Parish Church, to come dressed in bright colours, rather than traditional black.

He said: "She was a happy-go-lucky girl, full of bonhomie and joie de vivre.

"She was a fun girl who gave a lot of happiness to a lot of people. I'm sure her friends would agree with that.

"It seemed quite natural when discussing matters with Linda that Janie should say she did not want the women at her funeral to be dressed in black.

"She asked that they should wear bright colours and make the day a matter for thanksgiving rather than mourning."

Asked how his daughter, a mother of two teenage sons, Alex and James, had coped with so much pain and suffering, Mr McLaren replied: "She's been wonderful, really.

"It is true to say she was given a year to live three years ago, and she slogged away and fought and fought, yet never once did we hear her complain," he said.

Janie, who lived in Edinburgh and was divorced from the Channel Four racing commentator Derek Thompson, had undergone a serious operation in 1998 when a brain tumour was successfully removed and she was allowed to return home after only three days in hospital.

However, in the past three years the cancer returned, first to her bowel and then to her lungs. She was readmitted to hospital three weeks ago as the latest tumour began to press on her heart.

Recalling that first operation, Mr McLaren remembered how his daughter had insisted he carry out his commentating assignments despite the seriousness of her condition.

She was diagnosed as suffering from a brain tumour after she lost consciousness while driving to a doctor's surgery for treatment for dizzy spells. She managed to park, but then collapsed at the wheel.

Mr McLaren had planned to pull out of the 1998 Calcutta Cup match at Murrayfield, even though he had not missed an international in 45 years with the BBC, but she insisted then too that he take his place behind the microphone.

Mr McLaren said: "The first big operation was to get rid of the brain tumour, which was a complete success. But with this kind of melanoma cancer it is liable to strike again and that's what happened to Janie.

"She had a tumour removed successfully from the bowel, but the worst one was the tumour on her lung, even though she never smoked in her life. The left lung collapsed two months ago, leaving the other one still functioning.

"But then with the tumour pressing on Janie's heart she was taken back into hospital a few weeks ago. We knew then there was nothing much else they could do. She'd lost a lot of weight. It's been a harrowing business for us all. But she was so brave. Just after two o'clock on Saturday afternoon Janie slipped away. It seems the tumour on her lung was pressing on her heart and apparently that's what finished it."

John Beattie, a fellow rugby commentator, said: "The thoughts of everyone connected with Scottish rugby and in broadcasting are with Bill, Bette and the family. I could sense that sadness was in the air when I spoke to Bill shortly before he went on air on Saturday. I asked him how thing were and he could only reply 'No hope, son, no hope'."

Janie's death came just a month after Mr McLaren became the first person to receive the Freedom of Scottish Rugby award. The award was presented by the Princess Royal before Scotland's win over England at Murrayfield.