This Afternoon the Ayrshire Bulls bagged their first win of the season with a 24-10 victory over the Boroughmuir Bears at a soggy Millbrae.
The win was welcome news to the Ayr faithful, who left disappointed last Sunday when the Bulls narrowly fell to Watsonians on opening weekend.
(Photo – Scottish Rugby//SNS)
Speaking at final whistle, Bulls head coach Pat MacArthur was delighted with his side’s effort: “There was disappointment after week one. We went back and said we would tweak a few things and we did. The boys stuck to it really well… The physicality of the boys was brilliant and that’s where we set our benchmark in the forwards”.
It was Christian Townsend who got the Bulls going early doors. Two penalty kicks from the youngster in harsh conditions gave them a six-point lead before Tom Jordan crossed the line. From a rolling maul, the ball shipped to Robbie Nairn, who pierced through the defence before releasing Jordan into open space and cantering clear.
The Bears managed to get on the board shortly after with a penalty kick, but Townsend stretched the lead back to 13 in a similar fashion a minute later.
The Bulls fortunes got even better before halftime, with Michael Scott powering over to make it 24-3 at the break.
Despite the rain subsiding and the conditions improving in the second half the pace slowed down. The bears enjoyed the bulk of possession and territory but struggled to break down a resilient Bulls defence. In the end they only managed to muster one try, concluding the scoring at 24-10.
With the Bulls set-piece largely responsible for the victory, second row Ed Bloodworth was named FOSROCSuper6 Man of the Match after an impressive performance in the skies at line-out time. The lock also got through a power of work around the paddock.
Next week the Bulls travel to Melrose to face the Southern Knights in their first outing away from Millbrae. The match gets underway at 15.00.