Callum Kerr

If battles are of attrition, then this was warfare. When the final whistle bellowed around a soaked Queen Margaret It felt more like surviving the trenches than winning a game of rugby. It was an emotional affair - at times too emotional, with the action often spilling over the side lines in a niggly final quarter.

Heart and desire prevailed, with Cartha left scratching their heads that they didn’t hold out.

“There has been a lot of times we have managed to get ourselves into positions to win and it has turned around. So it shows we are learning from those loses.

“I was actually reasonably calm” he admits recalling the result hanging in the balance at the endgame: “I was sitting back watching it all happen and the boys new what they had to do, they took the options we would have asked from them and they knew the processes.

“Our guys kept the head, remained composed, and came away with the winning score”.

A late change prior to kick-off welcomed the return of club legend Pat MacArthur, who stepped in for Zander Howie.

It wasn’t the weather for wingers but as Zac Howard led his men onto the pitch as captain for the first time he knew his leadership would be called upon.

The ‘Millbrae Men’ started with the wind, quite literally, at their back. A trailing gust from Storm Dennis gave them valuable territory, which Ross Mccorkindale converted into three points after fifteen minutes.

It was a lead short-lived, with Cartha’s Anthony Nyangweso scoring out wide four minutes later to pull the visitors in front.

A second Mccorkindale penalty put Ayr 6-5 in front at half-time.

Now fighting against the wind Ayr enjoyed little to no field position in the second half, but Cartha couldn’t capitalise. Despite a wealth of chances the visitors could only muster a penalty kick to hold a narrow lead - being denied at the line multiple times by a spirited Ayr defence.

Having managed to escape the barrage, Ayr mounted their charge with seconds left on the clock. A cluster of penalties allowed Mccorkindale to march his men into the 22. A frantic defence cost for Cartha and soon they found themselves with two men in the sin bin for infringements.

After a stoppage in play for handbags and a stern telling off from referee John Smith, Ayr mounted one last surge. A handful of carries inched them towards the line before a penalty try was signalled, igniting jubilation for the home side.

Full-time: Ayr Club XV 13-8 Cartha Queens Park.

Camie Black was named Slater Menswear Man of the Match.

Ayr/Millbrae’s tie kicked off earlier in the day and was equally as tight. Cartha’s 2^nd XV squeaked it 14-15.

A reshuffled squad has been announced for the tie. Ross Thompson switches to full back for Grant Anderson, who misses out through illness. Tom Jordan fills the void at fly-half and a new midfield starts, with Isaac McNulty and Danny McCluskey both back to fitness.

Harry Warr comes in at nine.

The sole change in the pack is the return of Gordy Reid at loose-head.

On the bench Alex McGuire earns a return and Lewis Anderson moves to cover back-row. Only two backs are listed in the replacements, with Tyler Beary and David Armstrong both dropping from the starting line up.

The game kicks-off at 16.00 and you can follow the action on Twitter @AyrshireBulls.

Two Ayr/Wellington U18s return after their Scottish Youth Cup run was cut short. Dylan Wilson starts in the midfield with scrum-half Adam McGowan on the bench.

The game is scheduled for a 3pm kick off at Millbrae. Follow live updates on Twitter @OfficialAyrRFC.

Ayr/Millbrae are in action at QMA at the earlier time of 12.45.

After breaking into the Club XV side earlier on in the season he has gone from strength-to-strength. A rock at scrum time and a bulldozer in the loose, Ben's finest performance came in January's cut short fixture against Melrose. The prop bagged two tries en route to Slaters Menswear Man of the Match honours.

His performance caught the eye of Ayrshire Bulls and Scotland prop Gordon Reid, who was full of praise come final whistle.

He will receive a £50 voucher for the high street retailer. Well done Ben!

The Ayr/Wellington U18s trail blazing record has been well documented of late, and they’ll be keen to resurrect that form after a blip last weekend against GHA. Despite an undefeated run going into last week’s fixture the Glasgow side managed to excommunicate Ayr from the West Cup.

The squad will be boosted by the timely returns of skipper Michael Lafferty and savvy fly-half Richie Simpson. The match kicks-off at 13.45 at the Oriam.

The FOSROC Super6 is taking a break this weekend but Peter Murchie’s men will still enjoy game time courtesy of a friendly with Newcastle Falcons XV.

The match will allow the squad to iron out the creases experienced in last weekend’s defeat to Southern Knights, as well as give players the chance to put their hand up for selection. Kick-off is at 19.30 and you can follow the action every step of the way on Twitter @OfficialAyrRFC.

Ayr/Millbrae get proceedings underway at 13.45 before travelling back down the road to watch the Scotland game at Millbrae.

As always the game will be on the projector screen alongside food and drink promotions. Tomorrow all draft pints will be £3 and free half-time pies will be available. Boasting a family-friendly environment, Millbrae is the perfect place to watch all of this year’s Guinness Six Nations coverage.

The Ladies keep proceedings going on Sunday, when they start their Sarah Beaney Cup Campaign with a home tie against Hillhead Jordanhill.

Hills are a side with a rich history in the cup, but Ayr will take positives from their emphatic victory last time out against Heriots.

The action kicks-off at 14.00 at Millbrae.

The U18s squad is listed below, with Ayr/Millbrae, Ayr Ladies and the Ayrshire Bulls still TBC.

The squad is bolstered by the timely return of Grant Anderson after a long lay off through injury. Ayr Rugby's most decorated man enjoyed a cameo off the bench last week and is ready to enter the fray, earning his first start for the newly-formed Bulls.

Also bagging his first start is prop Michael Scott, who replaces Ruairidh Sayce at loosehead. On the wings Matt Davidson and Craig Gossman return to replace Lee Jones and Tom Lewis.

The bench is strengthed by the return of Isaac McNulty, who'll be keen to get his teeth stuck in when called. He last featured for the Bulls back in November against Boroughmuir Bears before a concussion ruled him out for the rest of the year. Harry Warr and Danny McCluskey are also back in.

The game kicks off at 14.00 on Sunday and you can secure you tickets at the bottom of this page. If you can't make the trip to Millbrae enjoy the action online at this link: 

A young and resilient group, they have shown prowess and potential in bucket-loads when firing, but can struggle to get over the line when paying against the tide. A revamped squad will aim to seek redemption tomorrow against Watsonians.

One man who will look to make an impression is Ciaran Wood, who marks his debut with a start at full back. Skipper David Young misses out alongside Seth Rae, making room for Kerr Borland and Josh Lawton.

Scott Clelland shifts to his natural position of hooker with Stuart Collier absent and Ben Cree comes in at tighthead.

The game kicks-off at Myreside at 15.00 and you can follow the action every step of the way on Twitter @OfficialAyrRFC.

Ayr/Millbrae are also taking to the field away from home. They travel to Ainniesland to face GHK 2XV. They kick-off at 14.00.

“Defensively we just weren’t good enough”.

The message to the squad at half time was that the game was still there to be taken despite playing poorly, but once Watsonians get on the front foot it seemed to drift away from the Bulls. Peter explained: “When you are chasing the game often mistakes start to happen, and that’s what happened for us”.

The Bulls can’t spend to long licking their wounds, with a crunch match against the Southern Knights in just eight days’ time: “We need to be better next weekend. If you react in the right way sometimes setbacks can be useful, but at this minute in time my reaction is just disappointment”.

The hosts drew first blood just five minutes in. A lovely break from centre Joey Reynolds split through the midfield, before he selflessly gave up the score for Lomand Macpherson to dive clear. Lee Millar, who is well-known for an impressive strike rate, made no mistake from the conversion.

The Bulls reacted well, with an equalising score coming moments later. Ollie Smith wriggled through a handful of tackles to break free. The full-back drew the last man before sending Tom Lewis on his way. Ross Thomson chalked it up with a touch-line conversion.

After twenty minutes Watsonians pulled back in front. After a period of pressure in the Bulls 22 Connor Boyle managed to break through, again Millar converted. The visitors managed to muster another bounce back effort but were thwarted numerous times by impressive Watsons defence. Eventually Thompson settled for a routine three points, to scrape at the deficit.

Half-time: Watsonians Rugby 14-10 Ayrshire Bulls.

Peter Murchie’s men started the second half in fine fettle but couldn’t turn good territory into points. The breakthrough ended up coming from the hosts with almost an hour gone. Edinburgh pro Kunavula pulled off an audacious offload to put Lewis Berg in and take the game away from the Bulls.

With the Bulls now trying to force the issue Lee Millar kept his side ticking over from the tee, capitalising on a poor penalty count.

Full-Time: Watsonians Rugby 27-10 Ayrshire Bulls.

In amongst the rabble of the final half hour Aylan Schabort, Ewan Davies and Grant Anderson all made their Bulls debuts off the bench.

Bruce expressed delight with the news, saying: “It’s great to be involved with Ayr Rugby. They are a local team catering for all. Flourishing youth and Women’s section, alongside winning senior sides”.

Ayr Rugby C.O.O Glen Tippett was equally positive: “We are delighted Corum have decided to support us. We are a community club and Corum do great work in the local area.

“We look forward to growing our relationship with them over the season”.

Andy is part of a raft of young players in their first year of senior rugby, and has rewarded head coach Stuart Fenwick with a string of solid performances. He has also shown versatility, shifting to 12 with Ross Mccorkindale back to fitness.

He earns a £50 voucher for the high street retailer.

As darkness descended Ayr were perched ten-metres out, but Assistant Coach Robbie Fergusson won’t waste time thinking about what could have been: “I think we were building there at the end – It is frustrating but can’t be helped”.

The game was all tied-up at the break, and Robbie was delighted with how the boys performed in the opening forty: “We played really well… I think we worked really hard for our scores. We looked after the ball really well which sometimes has been our flaw.

“They are a good bunch of boys and they play hard for each other”.

The visitors muscled their way on top in the opening phases of the game. A penalty to touch resulted in a well-worked driving maul and Hooker Ben McLean diving over.

The lead stood for ten minutes before tight-head prop Ben Cree managed to wrangle his way over the line with a host of bodies tangled around him. Andy Morrison’s conversion took the lead.

With twenty minutes played Melrose’s full-back managed to puncture the line, showing off his speed to slice through. He dotted down to regain the lead, before David Colvine added the extras from the kicking tee.

Tit-for-tat, Cree powered over in similar fashion to his first try to chalk up the game. Morrison’s second conversion pulled the hosts back in front.

Clark went on to bag his brace after half an hour. This time the full-back found himself with space out wide to dive over unscathed. A touchline conversion followed giving Melrose a 14-19 lead.

On the stroke of half-time Camie Black broke clear to tie proceedings at the interval.

After the break Melrose struck early, with Clark securing his hat-trick and the all-important game-winning try.

Possession batted back and forth for the remainder of the game before referee Lee Fish blew early on player welfare grounds.

FULL-TIME: Ayr RFC 19-26 Melrose RFC.

For a brace of tries and all-round brilliance with ball in hand, Ben Cree was named Slaters Menswear Man of the Match.

Ayr/ Millbrae also lost, falling 13-19 to GHA  2^nd XV at Rozelle.

Ross Mccorkindale returns from injury to start at ten, with Andy Morrison shifting to 12. David Young earns the captaincy in the absence of Gregor Henry, and starts at loosehead. (FULL TEAM LISTS AT BOTTOM OF PAGE)

The game kicks-off at 15.00 and you can follow the action every step of the way on Twitter @OfficialAyrRFC.

Ayr/Millbrae are also in action at home, kicking off at the earlier time of 14.00. They face stiff opposition in GHA 2nd XV.

The side includes a raft of potential stars, including three players who have featured for the Club XV this season.

The Bulls have a training game against Scotland U20s at Queen Margaret Academy, kicking off at 13.00. The team isn't listed.