BT Premiership

AYR 42

BOROUGHMUIR 19

by Elena Hogarth

AYR blew away the cobwebs after the Christmas break to storm to a commanding six-try win against Boroughmuir in the BT Premiership at Millbrae.

The first twenty minutes flew by, with the home team scoring three tries in quick succession. First, flanker Will Bordill spotted a gap in the defence, then prop (and eventual man of the match) Steven Longwell crashed over, before a cross-field kick by stand-off Frazier Climo was scooped up by winger Danny McCluskey, who passed it on to centre Archie Russell for the score.

The visitors were all at sea, their restart kick not going beyond the ten-metre line, missing kicks for touch and having their line-out poached by Ayr second row Robert McAlpine.

For all Ayr’s confidence in attack, there were defensive lapses, one allowing Boroughmuir’s dangerous runner Jordan Edmunds to race away for a try, with stand-off Chris Laidlaw converting.

Ayr got their bonus point just before half-time when scrum-half David Armstrong kicked into Boroughmuir’s twenty-two, McCluskey chased and chipped before collecting and propelling himself over the line in the corner. Climo got all four of the first-half conversions before being substituted after the resumption.

Both sides were down to fourteen men at different stages in the second half, flankers Aubrey Mcube (Boroughmuir) and Blair Macpherson (Ayr) yellow-carded. But it didn’t seem to bother either team.

Boroughmuir continually pressed for the line until replacement Dougie Steele dived over for a try which Laidlaw converted.

Ayr replied with a score of their own by McAlpine, with centre Ross Curle taking over kicking duties and nailing the conversion.

Edmunds was back making trouble for the Ayr defence, finding his way over the line again. Laidlaw couldn’t convert this time.

Someone else got their brace before the end of the game, Bordill claiming his second try after a brilliant break by Curle led to a scrum when he was held up over the line. He couldn’t score the try himself, but he did convert it on the final whistle.

Ayr head coach Calum Forrester was happy with his team’s flying start.

“That was very pleasing, especially after the disjointed nature of the four-week festive break. We scored some entertaining tries but we need to tighten up our defence.”

Meanwhile Ayr 2nd XV just pipped their Boroughmuir counterparts to the post, sneaking a 24-22 win when the opposition missed a conversion that would have drawn the game. Millbrae RFC were beaten 24-18 by Clydebank in BT West 2.

It was a good weekend for the Ayr-Wellington boys’ teams, with both the U18s and U16s reaching the semi-finals of the National Youth League Cup, beating Hawick and Dunfermline respectively.

Ayr Ladies finished their first year in the BT Premier League with another win, this time 27-12 against Stirling County. It’s been an encouraging debut season in the top tier for a young team and they will go into the Sarah Beaney Cup and Premier Development Cup with confidence.