Ayr Rugby Club lift the trophy

Apr 3 2009 by Mike Wilson

ONLY pride was at stake at Millbrae but it can be one awesome motivator which provided a rip snorter of a game.

As well as defending their unbeaten record at Millbrae, Ayr had no wish to go into the medal presentation at the end of the match having lost in front of their own support.

However, Hawks opened their attempt to be the only team to win at Ayr this season and the first to beat the new champions with a nifty try after seven minutes, Jono Wright outpacing a sluggish defence to get to Pat Boyer's deft chip first for Ian Noble to convert.

An out of sorts looking Ayr could have gone further behind had Noble slotted a couple of kicks but the home side closed the gap with a couple of Frazier Climo penalties.

Stewart Fenwick was having as good a game as he has had all season with some big carries and Scott Sutherland, who ended up man of the match, dominated the line-out as well as putting in some crunching hits.

As half-time loomed, the Ayr pack surged on a Hawks put-in, stole the heel and from the drive, skipper Damien Kelly crashed over for the try which took them into the break 11-7 ahead.

Ayr were down to 14 men early in the second-half but still pressured the Hawks scrum and when a dodgy pass bobbled for Noble, Climo pounced and scooted under the posts and converted. Ayr went further behind in the personnel stakes when Paul Burke joined Kelly in the bin, both harsh looking decisions, and Hawks took full advantage with an Alan Kelly try.

A Climo penalty again stretched the margin, this one bouncing over off the crossbar, remarkably having got that far since the stand-off had just received treatment for cramp, but in the closing minutes, Hawks used the pace which had threatened all afternoon, made big inroads in the Ayr defence and from a chip through,Wright swooped on a try line guddle to snap up his second try.

Craig Gossman converted and it was a nervous closing few minutes for the champions as they closed the game out intent on not giving away what would have been a costly penalty before John Steele blew for full-time both on the match and his long career as a ref.

As they had done against Currie the week before, Ayr showed that they could win without playing at the top of their form and it was a huge effort by the pack which won the game. Replacing the injured AJ McFarlane was always going to a hard ask for Dougie Steele and the scrum-half will have happier games.

As a result, the Ayr back line rarely scaled the heights they have achieved at times in the league campaign but again Climo was a huge influence in keeping the scoreboard turning over and against as fast a set of backs as they have faced all season, the midfield defence of Richard McCallum and Julian Montoro never wavered.

"We showed that we have some real talent at Hawks now but Ayr deserved it and the best team has won the title," said a magnanimous Peter Wright.

"We did it the hard way but are delighted to preserve that unbeaten record and now we can concentrate on the cup," confirmed Ayr coach Kenny Murray.

So the home league season came to an end as it had begun away back in August with a win. The celebrations after the presentation of the medals to the squad and the back room crew by SRU president Jim Stevenson went on long into the night in the marquee which had earlier housed a spectacular hospitality lunch for over 300.

Match sponsors JJL Groundworks were duly rewarded for their long and loyal support of the club with a day to remember.

The crowd left with one hope in mind. Success at either Aberdeen or Melrose on April 18 would bring their heroes back one more time for the semi-final of the Scottish Hydro Electric Cup and possibly set them on course for what would be an unbelievable cup and league double.

Ayr: A. Wilson; F. Marin, J. Montoro, R. McCallum, S. Magorian; F. Climo, D. Steele; G. Reid, P. MacArthur, S. Fenwick, D. Kelly, S. Sutherland, J. Wilson, A. Dunlop, G. Tippett. Subs (all used): G. Sykes, P. Burke, S. Nimmo, R. Holland, J. Rae.