BT Premiership

AYR 78

SELKIRK 0

by Elena Hogarth

A WIN for Ayr last Saturday against the already relegated Selkirk was expected, but nobody could have predicted that the Millbrae men would have racked up 12 tries to record a 78-0 score in the third-last match of the BT Premiership.

It was touch-and-go whether the game was going to go ahead at Millbrae after the pitch had been covered in snow the afternoon before, but it thawed out and although slippery, there was enough terra firma for the hosts to run riot.

First to get on the scoresheet was captain Ross Curle, for whom not even a park of treacle could stop those twinkle toes. After some loose ball from Selkirk (the story of the afternoon for the visitors) allowed Ayr scrum-half David Armstrong to hack on into the opposition 22, Curle kicked on too and slid over the line.

Number eight Pete McCallum – currently Ayr’s leading try-scorer of the season with an impressive 12 – shared the man-of-the-match award with fellow back rower Blair Macpherson. They scored a hat-trick and a brace respectively, with diminutive winger Craig Gossman getting two as well.

It certainly looked like a day for the forwards and it would have been, had Selkirk’s defence and ball retention not been so poor. Stand-off Frazier Climo, who kicked nine conversions, full-back Grant Anderson, replacement scrum-half Jack Preston and winger Richard Dalgleish scored tries too.

Selkirk did have their chances, as Ayr gave away penalties. But missed kicks for touch and fumbles here, there and everywhere meant they remained scoreless. Not even a shot at goal was attempted to avoid the dreaded bagel.

The problem for the visitors – who didn’t lose a game in last season’s BT National 1 – appears to be strength in depth. They simply haven’t had a big enough pool of players to call upon for their BT Premiership campaign. Ayr punished them right across the park. They stole line-out, they shoved them back at the scrum, they them turned over at will.

While it might have been a joy for the big crowd that had braved the low temperatures to see the men in pink and black score so many tries, it’s a worrying indication of the gulf between not only the leagues but the opposite ends of the BT Premiership too. And that in turn is a reminder of Scottish rugby’s general problem – not enough people play the sport.

If Selkirk were frustrated – their lock Peter Forrest was very lucky to stay on the field after swinging for Ayr prop D’arcy Rae, who later flattened him with a tremor-causing tackle – and miserable last Saturday, they’re going to hate returning at the start of February for the first of the Premiership development games.

Plugging the gaps between the end of the league fixtures and before cup matches and play-offs, these ties are supposed to feature 1st and 2nd XV players, but by the looks of things, Selkirk won’t have many of the latter.

There’s been much grumbling about the development games, but at least they will give players the opportunity to maintain some kind of match fitness and let those on the fringes turn out with team-mates they might only so far have trained alongside.

Ayr head coach Calum Forrester won’t have his mind on those fixtures though. He and his coaching team of Glen Tippett and Scott Forrest (joined last Saturday by the 2nd XV coaches Jim McKay and Gordon Kotze after their match with Edinburgh Accies 2nd XV was a wash-out) are very much focussed on the two remaining league games.

Forrester was grinning from ear-to-ear after his troops’ routing of Selkirk, who gave Ayr plenty to worry about at Philiphaugh earlier in the season.

‘I’m absolutely delighted. This really could have been a sticky one, but the boys put in a good performance, especially in the first half with some very accurate plays. It stands us in good stead for our trip to Hawick.’

Everyone will be hoping that that match this Saturday will go ahead, as the town of Hawick has been flooded in parts and Mansfield Park is always a bit soggy underfoot no matter the weather. It’s a tie that could be a real cracker as Hawick will be hurting from a defeat to Glasgow Hawks last weekend and they are forever champing at the bit to put Ayr in their place, which for the moment remains the top of the BT Premiership.

THERE was disappointment for Ayr Ladies as their eagerly anticipated Sarah Beaney Cup quarter-final against BT Premiership heavyweights Melrose Ladies was postponed due to flooded pitches at Millbrae the day after the men had played. It will be rearranged for a later date, giving the ladies in pink and black more valuable time to prepare for mighty Melrose.