“I’VE waited… and given the chance again, I’d do it all again,” boomed the sound system, the song building to much-repeated anthemic lines: “Now watch me rise up and leave all the ashes you made out of me when you said that we were wrong, life goes on, just look at how long I’ve agreed.”

There had been no Emerson, Lake and Palmer Fanfare For The Common Man, as a humbled-sounding Rob Flockhart took the floor one last time as president; no request from his fellow chairmen of the board to "Give me just a little more time," on behalf of Colin Grassie, as he too apologised for the shame brought on Scottish Rugby this summer.

No, the big production number heralded the subsequent appearance at Saturday’s Scottish Rugby annual general meeting of Mark Dodson, the CEO at the centre of all the controversy – the song Ashes by Embrace an accompaniment to a promotional video boasting of on- and off-field success, professional players scoring tries, interspersed with self-congratulatory messages about commercial performance and claimed improvements in terms of grassroots development.

Perhaps they just selected it because of the cheery tune, but little happens by accident in the BT Murrayfield communications department, so what were we to make of that message which preceded the report from the man recently awarded a lengthy and lucrative new deal by the Scottish Rugby board?

The sort of humility shown by Flockhart and – albeit he took a rather lame swipe at those who did their jobs properly when exposing failings, by accusing them of having become personal in their criticisms – by Grassie, when admitting that Scottish Rugby had let its shareholders down, is what we like to think we expect of those holding responsibility. In that context, then, Dodson’s apology-free performance was open to interpretation.

Perhaps this was the blustering bravado of a man under pressure who lacks the character to admit wrong-doing, telling others to do his dirty work, for whom the Elton John lament, "sorry seems to be the hardest word", might have been a more appropriate introduction. Perhaps, however, there was genuine belief that all the great things he feels he has done so heavily out-weigh any reputational damage Scottish rugby has suffered in the wake of the Keith Russell affair, that he need not allow his momentum to be interrupted by such distractions.

On a day which saw clubs ensure, in the sport’s laws, that they, rather than the board, maintain control of their competitions and on which a man branded the "anti-establishment" candidate was elected vice president on a landslide, it was clear that as politely and respectfully as Scottish rugby folk do things, many wanted to register concern about the methods employed by an organisation which doubles as corporate business and governing body.

As the latest review of governance gets underway, along with another into executives’ repeated use of non-disclosure agreements to silence former employees, there must also be close scrutiny of the triumphs that were trumpeted in the course of that video production.

This is the regime which previously claimed it was right to set winning the 2015 World Cup as a strategic target, then, when Scottish rugby was duly mocked as a result, justified it in terms that could now be cited by Dodson’s counterparts in Fiji, the USA, perhaps even American Samoa – currently 105th and bottom of the official rankings – on the basis that to do otherwise would be to lack ambition.

In terms of on-field and off-field success, Scottish professional teams’ tournament efforts as compared with Celtic rivals should be examined, while hard-pressed volunteer club treasurers who were promised more funds on Saturday might want to examine the figures and compare how much is arriving in clubs’ coffers with the amount going into the pockets of the hired help – and therefore, as in the case of payments associated with NDAs, out of the sport.

The key words in those lyrics may then be "just look at how long I’ve agreed".

Dodson stood up on Saturday knowing his personal situation is secure on the back of his time at Murrayfield. What the future holds for Scottish rugby is a lot less clear.