THE BILL McLaren dynasty moved on a step yesterday when it was confirmed that Jim Thompson, another of the legendary commentator's grandchildren, has been signed by Edinburgh.
McLaren, a former PE and rugby teacher in the Hawick area, retired only a few years ago from commentating after an illustrious career as 'The Voice of Rugby' around the world. His grandson Rory Lawson, the son of former Scotland scrum-half Alan, made
his name in three years at Edinburgh before moving to Gloucester where he has become one of the Guinness Premiership's leading No9s and a Scotland cap.
His cousin, Jim Thompson, is the son of Bill's late daughter Janie and racing commentator Derek, and he admitted yesterday he was thrilled to agree a two-year contract with Edinburgh and become a more settled fixture at Murrayfield, where the press deck is named after his grandfather.
Thompson said: "It is good that there is a part of the stadium named after my granddad after everything he has done for the game and it is fitting that will be my home stadium next year as well.
"My granddad is really pleased that I've signed a contract with Edinburgh and my dad is also delighted as well.
"Rory is also really happy for me. He told me what a good club Edinburgh is and that it is a really good move for me. To be honest, I wasn't expecting a contract, but I was very pleased to be offered one. Now I'm just looking forward to getting involved next season."
Full-back Thompson, who joins from Heriot's, has already played for Edinburgh, making his debut in last season's opening day loss at Leinster while in the SRU academy set-up, and he will feature for Scotland in the Emirates Airlines Edinburgh 7s this weekend.
He added: "Throughout the season I feel I have learned a great deal. Playing for the sevens has helped a lot; it has involved travelling around the world and playing in massive stadia like Wellington and Hong Kong in front of big crowds.
"The plan now is to achieve something special at the weekend. We only missed out on a semi-final place at Twickenham last weekend after conceding a last-minute try against Fiji. So we are aiming to get out of our group."
The full article contains 391 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
