Ayr Rugby Club topple Rotherham Titans

Dec 4 2009 by Mike WIlson, Ayrshire Post (main ed)

IT was one of the great nights at Millbrae.

In front of a packed 1,500 crowd, Ayr took on Rotherham Titans in the second round of the British and Irish Cup and proved worthy Scottish champions as they became the only side from north of the border to record a victory in the first two weeks of the tournament with a 28-13 win.

Kenny Murray's troops had to take on board quickly the hard lessons of the defeat at Doncaster only five days earlier but the way they set about the Yorkshire outfit ensured there was to be no White Rose double over the Millbrae men.

Yet it could not have started in worse fashion as referee Dave Jones, for whom the term picky was surely coined, awarded Titans a penalty practically from the kick-off and Mike Whitehead made no mistake.

No panic in the Ayr ranks and four minutes later, a move involving Pat MacArthur, Paul Burke, Scott Sutherland and Ross Curle set up the field position for Frazier Climo to slot a 36 metre penalty.

With penalties coming thick and fast, it was inevitable that Titans would get another shot and eight minutes in, Whitehead potted his second goal but that was it for a long, long time for the visitors.

From the kick-off, Ayr took one of what was the first of a multitude of turnovers, Mark Stewart linked with Burke and Glen Tippett's perfect offload put MacArthur away on a juicy angle which left the defence flat footed as he went in for the try.

Climo's conversion was narrowly wide and Titans had a couple of forays, particularly from scum half Neil Chivers and hooker Nigel Conroy but it became increasingly clear they would be living off scraps.

Ayr went toe to toe with the big men and the intense physicality resulted in Sutherland and Titan's Ryan Burrows being yellow carded in separate incidents (another two yellows were dished out in the second half but none to Paul Burke who capped a superb performance by not having his customary ten minute breather in the bin).

Ayr took greater advantage of rugby-lite with two Climo penalties stretching the lead to 14-6 before the miscreants re-appeared but by then Ayr had gained the upper hand in the crucial collision area, with Tippett, Ed Kalman and Gordon Reid ripping ball away and Andy Dunlop ensuring that he won't be on Whitehead's Christmas card list as he terrorised the Titans No10.

Complementing the heroics of the pack, Jamie Hunter sniped at their heels, Climo showed his customary authority, Stewart and Curle took all the punishment handed out whether going forward or in defence and the back three of Andy Wilson, Steven Manning and Grant Anderson posed much greater threat than the opposition who were given nary a sniff of the Ayr twenty two let alone the line.

As Ayr's dominance grew, so did the total as Climo clipped over two more conversions before the break to take Ayr into half time 20-6 ahead and leaving the crowd buzzing.

The break lasted for all of 15 minutes and the worry niggled that Ayr might lose momentum but the roar from the crowd as they re-appeared dispelled any concerns which were banished completely when, three minutes in, Climo slotted his sixth successful penalty.

Finally Titans responded to the imploring pleas of their vociferous travelling support and upped their game only to find it matched by an Ayr side who refused to give an inch.

Gordon Sykes, Hamish Mitchell, Stewart Fenwick, Scott Nimmo, Greg Francis, Dougie Steele and AJ MacFarlane joined the fray and it must have caused Titans spirits to sink when they realised that Jamie Hunter, who had played so well for 50 minutes was being replaced by such a seasoned campaigner as MacFarlane who revelled in the final half hour scrap.

Indeed, he was the creator of Ayr's second try, his chip ahead collected by the ever present Burke and finished off by Reid who crashed over for a mightily deserved try.

Tiatans threw on all the heavy mob for the final 20 minutes but despite the promptings of Petiana Gidlow and No8 Jon Skurr were unable to unpick a rock solid defence until eight minutes from the end.

A loose kick found Ben Coulbeck and the full back's mazy meander through the defence collected the try which the Titans second half efforts deserved.

Whitehead slotted the conversion, Titans battered at the Ayr twenty two but there was no way the pink and black line was going to breached again and the final whistle brought a huge roar from the home support.

Coach Murray was a happy man at the way his side had performed against a Titans side who had beaten Doncaster only two weeks ago.

He beamed: "It was a very steep learning curve with only four days to prepare but everyone did us proud.

"We showed a degree of physicality and intensity which is a level above that which we experience in Premier One. Indeed in a game of amateurs against professionals it would have been difficult for a neutral to decide which was which.

"They tried to use their big men to intimidate us and get some momentum going but we showed that we can be pretty physical too and we got on top and stayed here. We needed to go toe to toe with them from the start and we put them under a lot of pressure and they didn't know what to do.

"The challenge now is to take that intensity into Premier One for the Boroughmuir game at Meggetland on Saturday."

Scott Sutherland was Pinewood Restaurant man of the match but the big lock would have had no complaints if that award had been shared with Gordon Reid, Paul Burke and Andy Dunlop or even captain courageous Damien Kelly who threw off a mighty dose of 'flu to play a true leader’s part in leading his team to victory.

Finally a word about the unsung heroes, from assistant coach Peter Laverie and team manager Ronnie McKinnon and the tireless Mike Lewis and Jim Parker to president Billy McHarg, Jock Craig, Norrie Lymburn and Gus McKay with their host of volunteers who showed that when it comes to putting on a memorable event, Ayr are the equal of any of their professional opponents.

Team: Grant Anderson; Andy Wilson, Ross Curle, Mark Stewart, Steven Manning; Frazier Climo, Jamie Hunter; Gordon Reid, Pat MacArthur, Ed Kalman, Damien Kelly, Scott Sutherland, Andy Dunlop, Paul Burke, Glen Tippett Subs; Stuart Fenwick, Hamish Mitchell, Gordon Sykes, Scott Nimmo, Greg Francis, Dougie Steele, AJ MacFarlane.

Highlights on www.scottishrugby tv.com.