News that BBC Alba’s coverage of Scotland’s professional sides was to come to an end last season was met with huge disappointment from the rugby public, who had enjoyed the broadcaster’s coverage for the best part of a decade.

The Gaelic broadcaster’s excellent team, led by Hugh Dan MacLennan, brought top level rugby to our screens over a period that coincided with success for Scottish rugby, most notably the landmark PRO12 triumph of Glasgow Warriors in 2015.

Harking back to the early days of BBC Alba’s transmissions, Hugh Dan said: “We started out in September 2008 and so we’ve had a decade of broadcasting live sport, much of which has of course come in the form of rugby. Sport on BBC Alba has always been an important part of the viewing make-up; when Rangers were relegated down the leagues we showed them playing Brechin and got a record audience by some distance!

“I started out commentating in 1983 and although I’d always had a passion for rugby, it was something I didn’t expect. I remember being called into the office where I was to be made aware of some ‘news’ and was promptly asked to be the voice of BBC Alba’s new rugby coverage. If memory serves, the first game we did was at Meggetland between Boroughmuir and Stirling County in the top flight.

“We obviously then started covering the Scottish professional teams, mirroring the league’s format changes from Magner’s, to the Rabodirect, then PRO12 and the additions to make it the PRO14 as of last season. It was nice to see the competition grow as we also gained more experience in broadcasting rugby, and I think the product is now something that all of the teams can be very proud of.”

Hugh Dan has lent his voice to countless rugby commentaries over the past decade and is hard-pressed to select particular moments that stand out to him, although there are a couple that understandably stick out, as he added: “That first final that Glasgow were in was special from a personal point of view as we were covering such a potentially huge result for Scottish rugby, which of course didn’t come until the year after.

“That title triumph in 2015 at the Kingspan Stadium in Belfast must go down as one of the most memorable days in my broadcasting career. After missing out the season before, it was quite the occasion to see Glasgow beat Munster convincingly in that game to finally make that breakthrough.

“The 1872 Cup games were also memorable, because the eyes of the nation are on it and there’s a lot of emotion surrounding the fixture. As BBC Alba’s coverage came to an end, it was nice to see Scotland’s two professional sides relatively thriving and the next few seasons promise to be very exciting indeed.”

PRO14 games of BBC Alba have traditionally offered viewers the option of using the Red Button to hear English language commentary from other voices, such as Paul Mitchell or more recently, Jamie Lyall. Options in that respect were welcomed, although there lay some magic in Hugh Dan bringing the action to life in Gaelic and then turning to his co-commentator to glean reaction in English. That said co-commentators were non-playing members of the team in action made for some fascinating viewing.

Both Edinburgh and Glasgow squad members obliged accordingly, giving an insight not only into their personalities away from the pitch but also where their teammates may be going right or wrong during a live game.

Hugh Dan continued: “They were all very accommodating and brought a unique aspect to our commentaries. The Gaelic-English exchanges became perfectly natural in that we didn’t even have to engineer signals and it all flowed naturally; I think it enhanced the viewer’s experience no end.

“All the guys were really affable and took to things the way you might expect a professional sportsman to. I’d like to think it maybe helped a few of them in terms of media training, but in a very small way! There’s no such thing as favourites as these guys were giving up their time to help us broadcast, but I did have a very good relationship with Richie Vernon, who was always very obliging when we approached him.”

BBC Alba’s dedication brought us a decade of rugby coverage, during which numerous prodigies have gone on to become fully fledged international stars. The broadcaster’s own legacy is simply to have allowed us to watch Scottish professional rugby at its finest, and for that we should all be thankful.