Appreciating that Rob Flockhart, President of the SRU, had made time in his very busy schedule to come to the GROGS, a record number for a September meeting attended the first Lunch of the 2017-18 season to hear what he had to say about the current state and progress of rugby in Scotland. They did not go home disappointed! As we entered the 15th. season of GROGS Lunches, Chairman Brian Rigby praised the enthusiastic support of members, both current and past, for making this tradition so enjoyable. He also paid tribute to Steve Begley, whose premature death at the age of 42 was announced recently. He said Steve, a well known Glasgow rugby man, was too young to have been a GROG and too young to die. In opening, Rob made 3 admissions:- 1) he was feeling very nervous; 2) he was not there to defend or attack the SRU and 3) he was a founding member of EROS, the Edinburgh equivalent, but much younger, association of GROGS. None of these confessions was held against him. In a wide-ranging address, Rob covered many points of interest to his audience. He had nothing but praise for the changes in the governance of the Union recommended by the Working Party chaired by Sheriff Bill Dunlop which, he said, had resulted in Scottish Rugby being the envy of both the Irish and Welsh Rugby Unions. He couldn’t express strongly enough his view that Scottish rugby starts and ends with the Clubs, although the SRU needed to be trusted in its actions. It’s vital, Rob said, that Clubs need to encourage greater volunteer support in order to attack the bedrock problems of ongoing sustainability and player retention. Success breeds success! He covered a number of other general points and then gave way to questions. From a knowledgeable audience came knowledgeable questions. Is a 3rd. professional side in Scotland a likelihood? Why were there so few Scots in the Lions pool? Is regionalisation of Club rugby the way ahead? How can the SRU police illegal payments to players? Is the season too short? Rob answered these, and several other questions, in an honest and forthright manner which much impressed his discriminating audience and for this he was gifted one of the much sought after bottles of GROGS whisky!