Mark Carrick

Scottish Rugby Player and Give Blood 4 Good Ambassador Ollie Smith is encouraging everyone to book an appointment in Ayr this August.

You can book an appointment in Ayr for either the 5^th, 6^th or 7^th August at the Citadel Leisure Centre. Sign up to give blood at www.scotblood.co.uk or by calling 0345 90 90 999 (phonelines are open Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm).

Ollie recently visited his old stomping ground Ayr Rugby Club to encourage the rugby community to step up and donate.

‘I first donated blood during a blood drive organised by the great team at Give Blood 4 Good, a charity set up by my family after my brother, Patrick, passed away in 2019. He was a massive advocate and supporter for donating blood and donated many times prior to his untimely death.

I only see the positive benefits that giving blood has and how it can really help those in need. The fact that it only takes around half an hour out of my day to potentially save up to three lives is enough for me to donate.

One of the best things about giving blood is definitely the rewarding feeling after you have donated but also meeting the lovely staff at the donor centre who are so friendly and chatty whilst you’re donating… plus the treats at the end, has to be a Tunnocks tea cake for me!

My advice to first time donors is don’t be nervous about giving blood and make sure that you’ve had plenty to eat and drink prior to your appointment.’

Donations can drop by around 20% during the school holidays so there’s never been a better time to sign up and support Scotland’s patients.

Each donation can save or improve the lives of up to three people.

Sign up to give blood at www.scotblood.co.uk or by calling 0345 90 90 999 (phonelines are open Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm).

1^st XV Head / Defence Coach – Grant Anderson

Grant continues as Head Coach of the 1^st XV after a successful 23/24 season. Securing the 1^st XV promotion into the premiership in his debut season as Head Coach is a great foundation for him to build upon and the club are very excited to see what he can do with the team this year. Grant will head up all aspects of the male senior section. His specific focus will be on the team’s defensive structure.

Attack Coach – Frazier Climo

Frazier returns to coach the clubs attack this year after a hugely successful period with the Ayrshire Bulls. He brings a vast amount of quality and experience to the group and will play a big part in integrating both up and coming young players developed through the Millbrae way and the Ayrshire Bulls players joining the Club.

Forwards Consultants – Pat MacArthur / Ryan Grant  

Pat MacArthur and Ryan Grant will assist with the forwards this season. Pat returning to the Club as the most successful super series coach of all time brings his vast knowledge around Scrums and Lineouts as well as general forward’s play. Ryan will also join on a consultancy basis alongside his role at Glasgow Accies. They will help mentor players at all levels of the club.

2^nd XV Head Coach- Dean Kelbrick

Dean Kelbrick formally steps into the role of 2^nd XV head coach after working across several areas for the past few seasons. Dean knows the club extremely well from being heavily involved here as not only a coach but a player. Dean will also contribute to the delivery of the Millbrae Way and forming a strong pathway with our youth players.

Assistant Coach – Craig Gossman

Craig will again continue in his role from last season. He will assist in coaching across the senior section on Tuesday and Thursday nights alongside game days supporting both Grant and Dean.

Player Coaches – Ed Bloodworth / Calvin Henderson

Ed and Calvin arrive after being main stays in the Ayrshire Bulls. They will be involved in leading on delivery of forwards sessions in partnership with Pat and Ryan. It is a great opportunity for both players to develop their coaching skills under the guidance of the senior coaches.

Strength and Conditioning – Bobby Beattie

Bobby will lead the S and C provision across the club this year. He again is a great role model to the young players at Ayr RFC having come through professional rugby himself. He will assist with the Ayr RFC Youth academy and the programming involved in this.

3rd XV Head Coach

We are currently in the process of adding another coach to our team who will step into the role of 3rd XV head coach for the 2024/25 season.

Come along to Cambusdoon Sports Club on Friday the 21st of June to see an Ayr Rugby Select Squad take on Ayr Cricket Club Legends competing to win the much-lauded “Pickles Cup”.

The bar opens at 4 pm and the match will get underway at 6.15 pm. This will be a fun-filled evening and a big turnout is expected from both clubs.

Ayr Rugby Legend, Frazier Climo said, “We are organising a really strong team this year, expect to see some big names and big hitters in our squad. We are really up for this challenge and confident that the Pickles Cup will be coming to Millbrae!”

There are rumours abound around the cricket club’s line up including former representative and international players making an appearance. It sounds like it is going to be a cracker!

Community and collaboration are alive and well in Ayr sports.

In another step forward for multisport relations, Ayr Cricket Club will adorn the mighty Pink and Black this season in an acknowledgement of the strong links between the two clubs.

Brian Williamson, Ayr Rugby Club Chairman said, “Ayr Cricket and Ayr Rugby Club share the same values and community ambitions, both clubs have achieved a lot on and off the field over the last year. It makes sense to play in the same colours.”

Ross Mitchell, Ayr Cricket Club, said “We are delighted to adorn pink and black in recognition of the close connection between the two clubs.”

Sunday, April 28^th, Western House Hotel

The Macdonald Legacy kicked off its £1 million fundraising campaign on Sunday the 28^th of April with a prohibition-themed lunch at Western House Hotel in Ayr. The event was organised by Alan Macdonald who invited 120 of his friends and business network to attend a lunch in memory of his son, Barry Macdonald.

The event opened with a champagne reception as guests arrived in 1920s attire. Entertainment was provided by jazz and blues pianist, Joplin Parnell, who set the scene for the rest of the day.

Guests were then welcomed by Mr Macdonald, followed by a delicious 3-course meal served in the ballroom. The MC, former Scottish Rugby Internationalist and TV personality, Andy Nicol introduced a short documentary entitled, “The Macdonald Legacy” which explained how the legacy began and what it hopes to achieve in the sporting and local community.

Next up was an hour of big band red hot jazz music which delighted guests and filled the dancefloor. During the interlude, Andy Nicol introduced a slideshow of images entitled “The Vision of Millbrae” which showed impressions of what the Millbrae clubhouse and facilities might look like once complete. Alan Macdonald spoke to the amassed guests about the importance of the project and asked for their support.

As the band started up for the second time guests generously showed their support for Ayr Rugby Club, the Macdonald Legacy and the wider community as pledges were made to help fund the project.

There will be a series of information and fundraising events taking place over the coming months for club members and the wider community to get involved with The Macdonald Legacy and the redevelopment of Millbrae.

More information on how to donate can be found here:

https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/ayrrugbyclub

Here’s our squad for the FOSROC Super Series 2024 with Round 1 taking place on Friday 19th April at Millbrae.

Get tickets and hospitality on our fanbase app: 👇
https://loom.ly/Ly5x6rY

Members of Ayr Rugby Club have always been able to apply for international tickets, however, it was a manual process and time-consuming for club administration.

For the upcoming Autumn Series, we are trialling the application process via our new app. There is no purchase at this stage, you are simply selecting the tickets you wish to apply for.

If your application is successful you will then be sent a link from the SRU to complete the purchase.

Our fanbase app: 👇
https://loom.ly/Ly5x6rY

If you’d prefer the normal ordering method, here is the form to do so: 👇
https://loom.ly/fRWaJP0

For more information and ticket pricing: 👇
https://loom.ly/_FqyX7g

The deadline to apply for tickets through the club is the 8th of May to allow processing.

It’s been all go at Ayr Rugby Club with phase 1 of the Macdonald Legacy development underway on the 11^th of March. The main contractors, WH Malcolm have been busy on site, constructing a new barrier into the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum car park and installing safety fencing in the Museum grounds to keep the attraction safe for visitors. Tree surgeons have been busy removing trees and scrub from the footprint of the new access road which will connect Millbrae with Murdoch’s Lone.

Thursday the 4^th of April was a historic day for the club as a section of the red sandstone wall that separated Millbrae and the Burns Museum came crashing down with the help of a 14-tonne excavator. Within seconds the new opening was created marking a new dawn for the club. The proceedings were watched by Ron Lidell (Project Manager, Rydens), Brian Williamson (Chairman, Ayr Rugby Club), Alan Macdonald (Macdonald Legacy), and Walter Malcolm (Managing Director, WH Malcolm)

The ambitious plan to develop Millbrae as a sporting and community development is now a reality with phase 1 (New access road & car parking) and phase 2 (All-weather pitch and floodlighting) expected to be completed by November 2024. This will be followed by phase 3 which will include refurbishment and extension of the current clubhouse to make a new gym, café, studio and gender-neutral accessible changing facilities.

Brian Williamson, Ayr RFC Chairman said, “All of this has only been made possible by the funding provided by the Macdonald Legacy and the assistance given by the National Trust for Scotland and South Ayrshire Council. Together we have worked through complex negotiations to secure the necessary land and servitude rights to form the new access road from Murdoch’s Lone to Millbrae. This will be a game changer and make the facilities of Ayr Rugby Club accessible to all for generations to come.”

Alan Macdonald, who set up Macdonald Legacy in memory of his son Barry said, “This is a significant moment for Ayr Rugby Club and the wider community. I am delighted that work has started and would like to thank everybody who has helped us get to this point.”

We have successfully moved over 90% of our memberships to our Fanbase app. If you were still on one of our old platforms you will have received a notification saying all memberships are now on Fanbase. Please rejoin on the link below in your relevant category. Having everyone on one platform makes it easier for club administration and particularly the gate volunteers.

Link to our app:

https://app.fanbaseclub.com/Fan/Memberships?clubId=187