On Sunday the Ayrshire Bulls returned to winning ways after a slow start to 2020. A clinical performance from Peter Murchie’s men seen them breeze to a 17-40 victory over Boroughmuir Bears – a rearranged game delayed from the carnage of storm Dennis last weekend. The action played out at the Queensferry Hub due to poor weather at the Bears’ home of Meggetland, and the 4G pitch provided the perfect canvas for fast flowing attractive rugby. The win puts the Bulls back into third, with a clash against second place Heriots coming up this Sunday. Heriots sit one point ahead on 28 with Watsonians the pacemakers on 32.

With it all still to play for approaching the last round of regular season action Peter Murchie was delighted with his men’s effort: “We played pretty well especially in the first half with that wind against us… All in all, we haven’t played for four or five weeks so I was delighted with the performance”. It has been a slog of a season so far, with the FOSROC Super6 league kicking off in November and being hampered by the harsher weather: “It’s (conditions) been a challenge for every team. Training over the last two months has been challenging – 50mph winds and all these storms – it’s difficult. Credit to the guys who have stuck at it and managed to keep us ticking along”.It was the Bears who struck first, taking a three-point lead from the kicking tee just four minutes in. Ten minutes later the Bulls took the lead, with captain Pete McCallum breaking through the line and over to score. A lacklustre restart gifted the Bears possession, and a score from a fumbled ball put them back in front. It was 21 minutes in when the Bulls took a lead which wouldn’t change hands. Sam Kitchen bagged his eighth try of the season with a powerful surge over the line from close range. The Bulls bagged one more before the break, with George Bordill diving under the posts. Ross Thompson’s conversion concluded the first half scoring at 10-19. In the second half Nico Griffiths stretched the lead. A Boroughmuir pass deep in their half failed to meet hands and the prop reacted quickest to score.With an hour gone the Bulls were coasting, but a spike in intensity from the Bears made it a ball game. Jordan Edmunds broke clear against the run of play to make it a one possession game, before fly-half Chris Laidlaw crept through the line from the restart. Laidlaw through a looping pass to Edmunds but failed to connect for what would have been a certain try. The Bulls weathered the storm and secured two late scores to provide some cushion. The first came through Tyler Beary, who sniped into the corner after quick hands from Isaac McNulty put him away. The last score was arguably the best. On his way to Man of the Match honours, Harry Warr pulled off an audacious through-the-legs pass to debutant James Pinkerton. Unfazed by the step up from Club XV rugby, Pinkerton did well to draw the defender and dink a crafty grubber down the line for Craig Gossman to score. Full-time: Boroughmuir Bears 17-40 Ayrshire Bulls. Photos - SRU//SNS