Callum Kerr
It was a mixed bag of results at the weekend for Ayr Rugby’s senior sides in action. On Saturday the Ayrshire Bulls couldn’t quite overcome a resilient County defence on the road at Bridgehaugh, losing 33-24. The Ladies had better fortunes yesterday, securing their place in the National Plate Final with a 36-17 victory over Livingston Women in front of a rocking Millbrae baking in the Alloway sun.
(Image – Alan Graham)
Bulls:
Speaking at full-time following his sides defeat Ayrshire Bulls head coach Peter Horne was disillusioned with his sides efforts.
“We didn’t get off the bus” was the line that resonated most with those who watched on. Despite being on the back foot and trailing at the break, the Bulls managed to hog the ball in the second half and dominate both possession and territory, but it reaped little reward. County took their chances when they came and put in a heroic effort to defend their line, which ultimately was the difference.
Praising his opposition, Horne continued: “Fair play to Stirling, they battled hard and forced us to try make that extra pass. They forced us to tough it out and we didn’t.
“They defended really hard and showed a lot of pride in their line”.
This weekend the Bulls will look to get their sprint series back on track when they welcome Heriots to Millbrae. The opposition currently sit at the top of the table, so a win would propel Pete Horne’s men back into contention.
Ladies:
Despite a score line that reads like it was comfortable, there was nothing routine about Ayr’s semi-final victory.
It was the visitors that scored first before a tit-for-tat opening forty minutes ended with Livingston in charge 10-12 at the break. A score for each side after the break, with only one conversion from Ayr’s skipper Catherine Shennan, meant it was all square at 17-17.
Just to make the job even tough, the hosts received a brace of red cards, meaning they’d need to pull ahead with only 13 players on the pitch if they wanted to make the trip east for the cup final. The two-person deficit didn’t seem to hinder Ayr, who managed to run in a flurry of late scores to secure a comfortable victory in the end.
Now they have the small task of a National Plate Cup final ahead of them that’s set to take place on the international pitch at BT Murrayfield on 14 of May. Biggar RFC will provide stiff opposition in what promises to be another historic day for Ayr Rugby.
The match is scheduled for a 14.30 kick-off and details on ticketing and travel will follow in due course.