In the 1974 tour, he adopted many South African tactics and styles of play, although JPR Williams was preferred as full back for the tests, limiting Irvine to two test appearances on the wing.
[2][1] Irvine vies with Ken Scotland, Gavin Hastings and Stuart Hogg for the title of Scotland's greatest ever fullback, with incisive running at a blistering pace from the back his trademark.
[9] A number of polls have voted Irvine Scotland's greatest player,[10] and he is generally considered[11] one of the best, if not the best, attacking full backs of his era.
[13] In May 2005, Irvine announced his intention to stand for president of the Scottish Rugby Union.
[18] In March 2010 the Bill McLaren Foundation launched, with Irvine and John Rutherford directors.
In 2004, after 26 years at the property consultancy firm Jones Lang LaSalle, eight of them as managing director, he was appointed as chairman.
Irvine was made a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 1979 Birthday Honours for services to Rugby Football in Scotland.