There has to come a time when the talents of the guest speakers at the GROGS lunches cannot keep excelling. Happily this was not the case at the first lunch of the New Year when the ever youthful Roger Baird reached new heights of entertainment value. The event hadn’t got off to a great start with numbers being decimated by call-offs due to last minute illnesses. However, the survivors were well rewarded for their stamina and resistance to germs! In a speech peppered with famous names from 2 decades of top class rugby, some great stories from his playing days, some out and out jokes and strong views on the current state of Scottish rugby, Roger delighted the 92 GROGS present with a thoroughly enjoyable blend of rugby knowledge, humour, mimicry and nostalgia. Having a pop at his erstwhile playing colleagues and friends, albeit laced with poetic licence, Roger kept his rapt audience in the palm of his hands with his skilful blend of oratory. He also showed a fine talent in mimicry, particularly when talking about Gavin Hastings and the fearsome Jim Telfer, who Roger confirmed is, indeed, larger than life! In the safety of a warm room at Braidholm, with the benefit of a fine ‘Burns like’ lunch well digested, GROGS got a taste of what it must have been like to be faced with that Melrose legend in full flow! It wasn’t all fun and flippancy, though. There were serious comments from a man who clearly loves rugby and is still involved in it. Roger Baird is, by his own admission, not an admirer of the lack of support that the SRU gives to its member clubs, although he remains optimistic about Scotland’s immediate international chances. Also, though clearly an admirer and supporter of Gregor Townsend, he gave the impression that the replacement of the current Head Coach, Vern Cotter, may have been dealt with differently if Gavin Roger Todd Baird had been in charge. Not surprisingly, Roger received a standing ovation and a bottle of the priceless GROGS whisky by way of appreciation for a stellar performance.