AYR go head-to-head with west coast rivals Glasgow Hawks at Millbrae not once but twice in consecutive weeks with a place in two national finals at stake, writes Elena Hogarth.

First up is the BT Cup semi-final this Saturday, with the winner going to Cup Finals Day at BT Murrayfield on Saturday, April 22.

Ayr have made the final four times in a row, winning the trophy three times, the last in 2013.

Glasgow Hawks have made five appearances at Cup Finals Day, winning twice, but the last time was back in 2004.

After strolling through their quarter-final against Gala 53-29, the Old Anniesland side will have their sights firmly set on revisiting the national stadium.

But after a relatively straightforward 36-7 quarter-final victory over Jed-Forest, Millbrae expects, and Ayr will turn on the power and the style against Hawks, who they beat in their two BT Premiership meetings this season, and the odds look in the Alloway team’s favour in this first semi-final.

As well as home advantage, Ayr have more fire-power. Props George Hunter and Steven Longwell have maintained a high level of scrummaging, defence and attack all season; the back row of Will Bordill, Blair Macpherson and captain Pete McCallum has gas and guts aplenty; and half-backs Frazier Climo and David Armstrong control play while harrying and harassing the opposition.

Lock Robert McAlpine is arguably one of the best players in the league, and has achieved that rarity of being a club player called up to Glasgow Warriors as an emergency replacement only to impress in his outings for the professional side.

The coaching team – led by Calum Forrester – has blended youth and experience well this season, with old heads Climo, full-back Grant Anderson and second row Scott Sutherland on hand to guide teenage talents like centre Stafford McDowall and hooker Robbie Smith, both of whom returned to Ayr this week after Scotland under-20s duty.

Hawks have had a good season, helped by the return of winger Kerr Gossman from Ayr.

He has racked up tries with ease, but his team-mates failed to gel when they hosted the Millbrae side back in February, and will need to resolve their lack of impetus if they want to put pressure on the men in pink and black this Saturday.

Their second semi-final will be on Saturday, April 1 in the BT Premiership play-off. Ayr finished second and Hawks third at the conclusion of the regular fixtures. First-placed Melrose taking on fourth-placed Currie in the other game.

Ayr know from last season that these two semi-finals will be very different. They lost to Melrose in the cup game in 2016 before blowing them away in the league fixture seven days later, and they will two consistent performances this year.

Melrose could be lurking at Murrayfield too, as they face Stirling County in their BT Cup semi-final, but Ayr will be taking the one-game-at-a-time approach, as Forrester and his assistant coaches Glen Tippett, Scott Forrest and Pat MacArthur are nothing if not cautious.

“It’ll be a great fortnight for the whole club, but we can’t afford to get ahead of ourselves,” said Forrester. “We've had a good few weeks of preparation and we’re looking forward to the challenge of Hawks.”

Meanwhile, also hard at work in training have been Ayr Ladies, who travel to Edinburgh on Sunday to take on RHC Cougars in the quarter-finals of the Sarah Beaney Cup.

It’s Hillhead/Jordanhill and Murrayfield Wanderers who tend to hog the limelight in Scottish women’s rugby, but the Cougars aren’t far behind in the pecking order, and Ayr will have their hands full.

They caused an upset at this stage last year, beating Melrose, and will give their all in pursuit of another shock.

Ayr Ladies head coach Stuart Fenwick said: “There’s been a big effort from the squad in the run-up to this match, not to mention all season, so we’ve given ourselves the best possible chance.”

Ayr-Wellington U18 and U16 boys contest their West Regional Cup finals on Saturday and Sunday against Hamilton and GHA respectively.