A short history of the Bill McLaren Shield

Much as the man himself was, the Bill McLaren Shield is highly respected by the Scotland domestic teams competing for it.

It is a challenge competition for the country’s leading clubs, in which the holder must defend the shield against teams in league and cup competitions.

The Shield was first presented to Hawick RFC by Bette McLaren, Bill’s widow, in September 2011.

How did the Shield come about?

The Shield was inaugurated in 2011 in honour of the legendary Hawick commentator, Bill McLaren, better known as the voice of rugby – who passed away in January 2010.

Hawick were the first holders of the trophy, but they lost the first Shield defence match in September 2011 against Boroughmuir, by a scoreline of 7-9.

The Shield has since changed hands over 50 times and is an open challenge to all men’s Arnold Clark Premiership and National Leagues clubs.

Which clubs have their names engraved onto the Shield?

No clubs were able to have their names engraved for nearly two full seasons, before Ayr RFC was the first club to have that honour, after a stellar run of 16 matches undefeated in the 2012-13 season. Ayr was also etched onto the Shield in 2018.

The longest stretch without another name on the Shield then took place between 2013 and 2016. The curse was broken though when Heriot’s won the Shield off Melrose and went on a six-game win streak to become the second club to be chiseled in.

Melrose followed after winning the Shield from Heriot’s and going on a four-game streak – the minimum number of home wins needed to have the club’s name etched onto the Shield.

Over the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons, Ayr, Watsonians, Currie Chieftains, Marr and Hawick all got their club names scrawled onto the Shield. Edinburgh Accies and Hawick are the two most recent teams to etch their names into history, as of October 2024.

In 2013, then SRU President Donald MacLeod (left), sculptor Angela Hunter, Linda Lawson, Alan Lawson, their son Rory, and Scotland rugby legend Chris Paterson unveiled a bust in memory of Bill McLaren.

How does it work?

A team wins the Shield only after beating the current holder. A draw or loss results in the holder remaining with the Shield until they are beaten. The former holder presents the Shield to the new holder to defend.

After a team has won the Shield from the holder, they then must remain unbeaten at home for four consecutive matches in order to have their name engraved onto the trophy – this means a win or draw in each of these four matches.

Where the holders have matches away from home during this time, these matches are not Shield defence matches. If a team beats them at home during this period, then the winners become the new holders.

After the four undefeated home matches, all cup and league games thereafter are Shield defence matches – home or away. The team that subsequently defeats them will become the new holders and the process begins again.