Rugby: leaders Ayr play the numbers game as they beat West

Oct 15 2010 Ayrshire Post (main ed)

BELOW par Ayr showed their strength in numbers as they crushed West of Scotland to stay top of Premier One.

When Murray Beckwith came off the bench to make his debut, he was the 34th player to have played for the side in the eight league matches so far.

That is seven more than at the same time last season and almost two teams with a couple of subs thrown in.

Ayr have not started the same team in successive weeks since mid August, a point made by coach Kenny Murray.

While not bemoaning his lot, Murray would give much to have the sort of settled squad he had last season when the main interest was watching who dropped to the bench to give someone else a start.

The problem this season is that anyone dropping to the bench would probably pull a hamstring in the process thus joining the ranks of the walking, or hirpling, wounded.

It is all the more remarkable therefore that Ayr are three points clear at the top with three games left before the league splits going into November.

West pitched up at Millbrae with the express intention of knocking Ayr off that spot and, in doing so, haul themselves out the bottom four destined for the promotion/relegation play-offs.

They didn't manage it against a home side who outmuscled them in the set piece and took some of the chances which they created to run in six tries. When Ayr did ignore the pace of the West backs, they twice paid the price.

From the outset, it was clear that Ayr knew that a threat would be posed by the big ball carriers for West in locks Robert McAlpine and Mark Jenkinson and they did a pretty good job of policing them from the start.

With four minutes played, Ross Curle jinked to the West line and Gordon Reid was on hand to finish off for Mark Bennett to convert.

McAlpine did put in a couple of useful surges as West came back and after one foray, Ally Stevenson got West on the board with a penalty in 15 minutes but West's big problem was in the scrum and after pinching one against the head, Ayr took another close to the line, AJ MacFarlane sniped blind and put Andy Wilson over.

Bennett cooly converted from wide out then off the bench came the heavy mob of Damien Kelly, Glen Tippett and Pat MacArthur and after only a couple of minutes, Kelly swatted off a couple of tackles and put Cammy Taylor over for try number three to take Ayr in19-3 ahead at the break.

West were down and unlikely to catch up but a blistering run by wing Calum McKenzie for a try converted by Stevenson pulled the margin back to nine points but again the power of the pack told.

West were shunted back almost into Burns Monument for Andy Dunlop to get the touch down and Bennett's conversion shut the door completely.

However, after that bonus clinching try, Ayr went flat and although West were unable to find a way through, it wasn't until the 70th minute that they cranked up the power again for Kelly this time to get the score.

Bennett converted, McKenzie again showed searing pace to grab his and West's second try but it was Richard McCallum who had the fnal word, his try in the last minute reward for a very solid afternoon's work.

'It was the pack wot won it' if I may paraphrase and although the hefty crew already mentioned beefed up the scrum, lock Dean Stewart put in a cracker of a game both in the line out and the loose showing he is a player who knows his way about the park and Gordon Sykes fully earned man of the match, putting a great 80 minute shift at prop, belying the fact that he has been brought out of retirement to ease Ayr's paucity of front row cover.

Murray reflected: “It was good to keep to our target of win bonus in home games but I was disappointed in our overall performance.

“Some of our game was the poorest of the season, our passing was sloppy, our decision making was way off, we weren't clinical enough, we didn't contest the breakdown the way we should have and we certainly didn't build on the way we played at Boroughmuir.

“We were a bit complacent and we could have paid a penalty because West are a good side and their position in the league doesn't do them justice."

Ayr have to avoid complacency again on Saturday when they travel to Myreside to face a Watsonians side who have only one win from eight and look certain to be in the bottom four.

They will put up a fight at their home ground and Ayr, with Stirling at home the following week then game 11 at Currie to come, need to keep up the momentum since they would dearly love to go into the championship play offs as league leaders.

Team: G Anderson; A Wilson, M Bennett, R McCallum, C Taylor; R Curle, AJ MacFarlane; G Reid, S Adair, G Sykes, D Stewart, S Nimmo, J Crossan, R Wilson, A Dunlop. Subs D Kelly, G Tippett, P MacArthur, M Beckwith, D Steele.

Highlights of Ayr v West are on www.scottishrugbytv.com