Ayrshire Schools Cup Final

The annual and hugely successful Ayrshire Schools Cup Final takes place this Friday evening at Millbrae. The games take place at U16 and U18 level and will involve Belmont School, Carrick Academy and Marr College. The Under 16s game kicks off at 18.30 and the Under 18s match is straight after at 19.45.

The Finals are the culmination of a big effort  to develop rugby in the Ayrshire schools and in addition to the work carried out by the teachers in the schools there is significant support from South Ayrshire Council, the Ayrshire Community Rugby Trust, the Scottish Rugby Union and of course Ayr RFC.

There's always a big crowd and a superb atmosphere so if you can get along you'll see some great rugby from the players of the future.

Cup final match report

Ayr 10 Gala 24

A historic third RBS Cup final win in a row wasn’t to be for Ayr on a drizzly Saturday afternoon at Murrayfield, as they were beaten by a determined and efficient Gala.

            Following on from Helensburgh’s defeat of Dunbar in the Bowl final and Dunfermline’s triumph over Musselburgh in the Shield final, the men in pink and black took to the pitch with great purpose and began the match well.

            Ayr looked like they would draw first blood, when just over a minute into the game, there was a sudden plunge for the try line after a well-worked move from the line-out.  Gala’s defence, however, was just too good, and it would prove to be so for the rest of the encounter.

            The maroons opened the scoring at five minutes, with Lee Millar slotting over a penalty to make it 0-3.  Millar’s accuracy with the boot and the flood of penalties continued for the next seventy-five minutes.

            Both sides appeared nervous, with Gala desperate to get some silverware to mark their ascent from the lower leagues and Ayr just as eager to retain the trophy to end an inconsistent season on a high.  Knocks-on, fumbled and forward passes, line-out steals and missed kicks for touch marred the match, which had a stop-start rhythm thanks to disciplinary problems.

            At fourteen minutes, Ayr had a chance to draw level, with Ross Curle kicking a penalty to bring the scores to 3-3.  Both teams seemed to settle and attempt to assert their game plans.  Gala launched some pulsating attacks, which were snuffed out by the exhaustive defensive efforts of Ayr’s back row of Robbie Colhoun, Jonno Willis and Andy Dunlop.

            Ayr were down to fourteen men at twenty-eight minutes, with Curle finding himself in the sin bin.  While they valiantly tried to hold on, it was only a matter of five minutes before Gala scored a try.  Snappy winger Craig Robertson managed to dive in at the corner and keep away from the touchline, despite the attentions of Ayr defenders.  Millar’s conversion stretched Gala’s lead to 3-10. 

            Just three minutes later, Gala found themselves a man short when prop Ewan McQuillan tripped Ayr’s scrum-half Murray McConnell and was yellow-carded.    This gave the Millbrae men the impetus to attack, with a sustained attempt to force their way over Gala’s try line after another solid line-out.  Prop Denford Mutamangira finally managed to burrow his way over to the delight of the pink and black-clad army of fans.  Robbie Fergusson’s successful conversion levelled the scores at 10-10 at half-time.

            Ayr tried to tip the balance in their favour at the restart, with breaks from full-back Grant Anderson and Curle.  But Gala’s rock steady defence meant these challenges came to nothing.  When the men in maroon weren’t defending as though their lives depended on it, they were hoofing it up the wings or producing superb kicks to touch. 

            Millar had another shot at goal at forty-six minutes, but it was just out of his range.  Ayr’s indiscipline came back to haunt them four minutes later, when replacement winger Andy Wilson was sent to the sin bin for taking Robertson out in the air.

            Gala went for touch and the line-out, but despite being a man down, Ayr smothered any scoring chances.  Centres Mark Stewart and Curle combined well to track down the dangerous Gala backs. 

            However, things went from bad to worse as Ayr’s hooker Stuart Fenwick joined Wilson in the bin at fifty-four minutes after the referee ruled he had deliberately knocked-on.  Millar went for the posts, making the scores 10-13.

            Ayr tried to get back into the match, but were pinged for crossing and shortly after, knocked-on.    The seven-man scrum was holding up well, but the penalties against them kept coming.  Millar added another three points at fifty-nine minutes, helping Gala to pull away at 10-16.

            Ayr got the chance to try and catch up two minutes later, but Curle missed the penalty kick.  Millar slotted another kick at sixty-six minutes to stretch the lead to 10-19.  The inevitable occurred at seventy-one minutes with McQuillan barging his way over for the Borderers.  Millar missed the conversion, but Gala had gained an unassailable lead of 10-24.

            Time ran out for Ayr, who despite breaks from Anderson and Curle couldn’t claw back any more points.  It was a disappointing day for everyone involved with Ayr, but a great achievement to make the Cup final three years in a row.  Gala were deserving winners on a great day for men’s and women’s club rugby in Scotland.

- Eléna Hogarth.

Kenny Murray 'indefatigable' says the Herald's Neil Drysdale

As the day of the RBS Cup final dawns, it's great to see Scottish club rugby getting so much coverage in the national press.  In this morning's Herald, Neil Drysdale pays tribute to Ayr's head coach Kenny Murray in glowing terms.  In case you're thinking Drysdale is comparing Murray to the Royal Navy battlecruiser Indefatigable that was sunk in 1916, he's actually praising his determination and unwillingness to admit defeat.

You can read Drysdale's article here.

EH

RBS Cup final team

The big day is nearly upon us as Ayr head to Murrayfield to take on Gala in an unprecendented third RBS Cup final on the trot.  Players, coaches, backroom staff and fans are in optimistic mood and are determined to bring the cup back west for the third time.

Head coach Kenny Murray admits that Gala, after convincingly beating Ayr in their last encounter, start the match as firm favourites in most people's opinions, but knows his team will do everything to retain the trophy.

"We are desperate to get some silverware this season," says Murray.  "Our form has been inconsistent this year but we have a chance to finish the season on a high - and make some history!"

Musing on his selection choices, Murray reveals that this has been his toughest team to put together as the entire squad is fit.  He is happy to have influential captain Mark Stewart in the starting line-up.

"He was a big omission when we lost to Gala at home recently and we are confident he will have a positive impact on the pitch."

Team (subject to change on match day):
Grant Anderson, Steven Manning, Ross Curle, Mark Stewart (captain), Cammy Taylor; Robbie Fergusson, Murray McConnell; Denford Mutamangira, Stuart Fenwick, Gordon Sykes; Scott Sutherland, Colin White; Jonno Willis, Robbie Colhoun, Andy Dunlop.
Substitutes: Hayden Wisnewski, Andrew Kelly, Graham Fisken, Ross Doneghan, AJ MacFarlane, Andy Wilson, Sylvain Diez.

Ayr v Gala, RBS Cup Final, Murrayfield, kick-off 4pm.

If you haven't been able to get a ticket from the club, you can still buy them on match day in Edinburgh.  The Murrayfield Ticket Centre will open at 10am on Saturday, with tickets £10/£5 concession. 

Score updates will be available via our Twitter page.

Best of luck to the guys and here's hoping for a great day at Murrayfield!

EH

Press previews of Cup Final

The press coverage of Ayr's historic third Scottish Cup final in a row continues, with head coach Kenny Murray and captain Mark Stewart appearing in the Scotsman and assistant coach Peter Laverie in the Herald.  Murray speaks to David Ferguson about Ayr's experience, while Stewart tells him how much he enjoys playing at Ayr, and Laverie talks to Gary Heatley of the players' desire to retain the trophy.

You can read the Scotsman articles here and here, and the Herald piece here.

EH

Curle in today's Herald

It seems the Ayr players can't keep out of the national press - for all the right reasons.  Making sure Murray McConnell doesn't steal all the column inches, Ayr's flying centre Ross Curle appears in the sports pages of the Herald today.  He talks to Neil Drysdale about the end of a tough season, Ayr's 'weird' encounter with Gala in the league and, of course, Saturday's Cup final.  Read the full story at the Herald's website.

EH

McConnell in today's Scotland on Sunday

Ahead of Ayr's historic third Cup Final in a row at Murrayfield on Saturday, one of the club's teen stars, scrum-half Murray McConnell, talks to Iain Morrison of the Scotland on Sunday about bulging discs, playing at the home of Scottish rugby for the first time and taking on Gala.  You can read the article at the Scotsman website.

EH