Laura, Callum and Gordon take top awards

Ayr had a good night at the SRU Club Awards dinner at Murrayfield on Friday, with men's first XV player Callum Templeton, Ayr Ladies first XV player Laura Turner and under-18s coach Gordon Kotze taking home an accolade each.

Callum was named RBS Premiership player of the season, Laura the best player of the RBS Women's National League Division 2; and Gordon BT Sport youth coach of the season.

Callum has overcome serious injury which kept him away from rugby for a considerable period to become an invaluable member of Ayr's starting XV.

Talented young back Laura thoroughly deserves the recognition for her consistently good performances during a great season for Ayr Ladies.

Gordon has galvinised his young charges and led them to the under-18s national league title in a tremendous season for youth rugby at Ayr.

Well done to all!



The ladies love rugby

Ayr Ladies love playing rugby so much they've even been out training in a thunder storm in the past week when they could have been enjoying a well-earned rest after a busy season.  But no, nothing stops these ladies in their pursuit of improvement.

We asked some of the players just what being part of Ayr Ladies means to them.

"Family." - Laura Turner.

"Strong, supportive, one!" - Gemma Swankie.

"Part of something.  Protective of my team.  Focused.  Adrenaline rush.  Useful."  - Amy McGillivray.

"ALIVE!" - Emily Irving.

"Free." - Megan Thomson.

"Fearless." - Lynda Morgan.

"Release." - Ann- Marie Connelly.

"Proud!" - Claire McGill.

"All of the above!" - Louise McLauchlan.


If you'd like to get involved, or just find out a bit more about rugby, you can visit facebook.com/AyrLadiesRugby, or pop along to Rozelle on Thursdays at 6pm for a fun introduction to touch rugby.

Kelbrick in Thistles squad

Dean Kelbrick is part of the Scottish Thistles sevens team that is taking part in the opening GB 7s event at Allianz Park in London today.

Also competing at the home of Saracens are teams from the British Army, Irish Exiles and England IPF, amongst others.

Dean lines up alongside other notable players from Scottish clubs including George Horne, Alex Cox, Murray Douglas, Richard Mill and Nyle Godsmark, who captains the squad.

Pat, Gordy and Finn in Scotland squads

It's been quite a week for the Ayr alumni of Pat MacArthur, Gordon Reid and Finn Russell, as they all featured in Glasgow Warriors' historic semi-final win over Munster on Friday evening.  Now they've been rewarded for their fine form all season by being named in the Scotland squads which will take a two-part tour this summer.

The first squad will play the USA and Canada, with the second taking on Argentina and South Africa, and nine players have been named in both groups, including Pat and Gordon.  Finn, in his inaugural inclusion in a senior Scotland squad, has been named in the party for the first tour.

Well done to all three for their well-deserved selection.

Read the full story here.

D'arcy in Welsh warm-up

Ayr's young prop D'arcy Rae will start in the front row for Scotland under-20s when they face their Welsh counterparts this evening at Bridgend in a warm-up match ahead of their trip to New Zealand in June for the Junior World Championship.

D'arcy played in last week's defeat to Ireland U20s, with Ayr team-mate James Malcolm coming off the bench.  James isn't involved in today's match but is included in the squad for the tournament.

Read the full story here.

End of season awards

Friday evening saw Ayr RFC's 2013/14 end of season awards dinner, which was attended by 173 people to celebrate the close of another great year for the club.  Awards were handed out to players from the under-16s to the ladies to the 1st XV and a good night was had by all.

Award Winners

U16s Player of the Year - Ruiaridh Sayce

U18s Most Tries - Sam Gray

U18s Most Improved Player - Zac Howard

U18s Players' Player of the Year - Ross Hay

U18s Player of the Year - Owen Gemmell

Ladies Noted Achievement - Emily Irving

U18s Ladies Player of the Year - Kelsey Swift

Ladies Young Player of the Year - Niamh Durnan

Ladies Players' Player of the Year - Lisa Croniken

Ladies Player of the Year - Daryl Paterson

Millbrae Noted Achievement - Tom Potter

Millbrae Player of the Year - Max Pickles

2nd XV Young Player of the Year - William Black

2nd XV Most Improved Player - Ben Paterson

2nd XV Players' Player of the Year - David Armstrong

2nd XV Player of the Year - David Armstrong

1st XV Young Player of the Year - Fergus Scott

1st XV Most Improved Player - Peter McCallum

1st XV Players' Player of the Year - Callum Templeton

1st XV Player of the Year - Murray McConnell


You can see photos of the evening by George McMillan at Ayr's Facebook page.