Did the members of GROGS know something that hadn’t been publicised because there was a record turnout at the January Lunch? 123 members turned out to hear what Dave Rennie, the Glasgow Warriors Head Coach, had to say about his team and about rugby in general. The rugby savvy (and in some cases not so savvy) were hungry to hear such a world class coach and they were not disappointed. As Dave doesn’t readily speak publicly, nor actively seek the limelight, GROGS felt honoured that he had agreed to join us at a very demanding time for him. As there was a lot of pressure on his time, Dave’s preferred format was a Question and Answer session and, whilst agreeing to this request, Chairman Fergus Neil prevailed upon him to open with a short description of his coaching career, what had brought him to Glasgow and, most importantly, what had made him stay on by recently extending his contract (“an easy decision” in his own words). Dave’s delivery was a refreshing mixture of knowledge, insight, honesty and loyalty to his players. Thankfully, without participating in any of the hard work we felt as though we’d been in one of his coaching sessions. Certainly, those who would be watching the imminent Champions Cup match against Cardiff Blues would be keeping their slightly more knowledgeable eyes on any instances of players angling in or sheering across scrums or being thrown across lineouts. Throughout, he was consistent in his view of the importance of strong refereeing. If referees were more ready to be tougher with some of the more regular transgressions on the pitch then coaches would take steps to stop them. The standard of the questions from the floor was exceeded only by the standard of the answers. Here was a man, a gentleman, who clearly loves rugby and who spoke honestly for all of the time he was on his feet. He expressed his disappointment at some of the events of the past 3 weeks but remained positive about the future and felt that a bonus win against Cardiff Blues would put Warriors in a very good position to progress in the competition. He was wished well for that and was awarded with a bottle of GROGS whisky to toast his, hopefully, winning team.