Ayr Ladies 17 Stewartry Sirens 36

Ayr Ladies put on a determined display against Stewartry Sirens at a sunny BT Murrayfield in the BT Plate final, but couldn't get past their south-west rivals, who flew away with the win in the second half.

It started well for Ayr, as a chip ahead bobbled nicely over Stewartry's try-line but the Sirens' defenders beat the attackers to it.  From a strong scrum, Ayr's stand-off Rachael Mulholland, outside centre Laura Turner and left wing Daryl Paterson moved the ball quickly but they were turned over and the Sirens worked their way out of their own half.

Ayr captain Gemma Swankie, along with fellow prop Louise McLauchlan, got stuck into some thumping tackles and they eventually got the penalty.  Mulholland shot away into Stewartry's half but couldn't quite make it to the line.  Ayr were patient and blindside flanker Eilidh Thomson fought her way over for a try.  Right wing Catherine Shennan couldn't manage the wide conversion.  5-0.

As well as a strong pack, Stewartry had some lively backs and they quickly raced up to Ayr's five-metre line.  Despite strong defence from Swankie and hooker Megan Thomson, Sirens' number eight Ali Henderson was bundled over for an unconverted try.  5-5.

Ayr were dealt a blow when try-scorer Eilidh Thomson had to leave the field with a knee injury.

A thirty-metre break from Turner gave the travelling support something to cheer about but it was later knocked on.  A solid Stewartry scrum let their backs loose but Ayr inside centre, and recent Scotland under-20s cap, Lisa Croniken was doughty in defence and with Mulholland and number eight Lynda Morgan, shoved them into touch.  

Ayr secured the line-out and lock Ashleigh Nelson and Mulholland showed great hands to fire the ball on.  But they couldn't get past the Sirens' powerful forwards and before long, they were getting pushed around at the scrum.  Some determined tackling from Paterson, Nelson, Croniken and openside flanker Laura Sommerville kept the Sirens away from the try-line.

But not for long.  Another huge shove at an Ayr scrum got the Sirens the ball and again Henderson pounced for an unconverted try.  5-10.

Ayr held firm at their next scrum to get their confidence back and began to put the Sirens under pressure at their put-in.  A couple of turn-overs for both teams followed, and Ayr's poaching got them out of their own half.  Megan Thomson sold a brilliant dummy to release Croniken, who couldn't be brought down by the defenders, and she fired the ball to Paterson, but she was bundled into touch.  

Ayr camped out in the Sirens' twenty-two, with Morgan pressing for the line.  Full-back Ann-Marie Connelly took a high ball well and charged into the defence, managing to offload to Turner.  A penalty followed and scrum-half Niamh Durnan raced away with terrific support from her forwards.  It was Croniken who blasted her way over for the try.  Replacement Jackie O'Neil just missed the conversion.  10-10.

The ladies in pink and black pressed on, with another break from Croniken, who had Swankie and Sommerville in support, but the Sirens turned it over.  A couple of sturdy Stewartry scrums followed and right wing Hannah Sloan flew away from her own half to shoot up the touchline and touch down under the posts.  Left wing Kirsty McCleary slotted the conversion.  10-17.

The second half began with some good attacking play from Swankie, Turner, Nelson, Morgan, Durnan and lock Zoe Montgomerie.  But again they struggled to contain the Sirens' marauding forwards, even though Swankie was putting in some particularly effective tackles.

Sloan was a thorn in Ayr's side though and she repeated her feat from the end of the first half, with McCleary again getting the conversion directly in front of the posts.  10-24.

Ayr didn't let their heads go down though, with Connelly and O'Neil doing superbly in defence and attack respectively.  A great catch from Shennan was taken on by Turner and Nelson but Ayr were pinged for holding on just on Stewartry's five-metre line.  

Sloan was away again but this time Paterson stopped her in her tracks.  The Sirens carried on into Ayr's half and after a sustained period of pressure, full-back Jo Steel went over for an unconverted try.  10-29.

Croniken impressively handed off several defenders to get back in the Sirens' half.  Good work from McLauchlan, Morgan and Turner got them over the line but they were held up.  Moments later and, from a strong Ayr scrum, Croniken grabbed Ayr's third try.  It was a tricky conversion but O'Neil struck it perfectly.  17-29.

Shennan, Mulholland, Croniken and Morgan were speedy in attack but a forward pass was thrown to hand back possession to the Sirens.  Turner and Paterson combined to drag down yet another Stewartry flier, and Durnan put in an enormous tackle, but again Sloan took off and nobody could get near her.  McCleary converted.  17-36.

Ayr replacements Lindsay Dick and Rachel Morrison provided fresh legs to chase down the Sirens, and when Ayr regained possession, Swankie set off on an exciting charge up the wing, but she was hauled into touch.

They stayed strong at the line-out, but Stewartry put them under intense pressure at the scrum and it looked like the ladies in dark pink would finish with another try until the Ayr defenders dragged their attacker off the pitch.

Time was up and the referee blew the whistle, sending the BT Plate to Castle Douglas.  It was a difficult afternoon for Ayr Ladies, but the players and coaches, and friends and families who have supported them, can be proud of yet another season full of positives.

Final score: Ayr Ladies 17 Stewartry Sirens 36.

Ayr:

15. Ann-Marie Connelly; 14. Catherine Shennan, 13. Laura Turner, 12. Lisa Croniken, 11. Daryl Paterson; 10. Rachael Mulholland, 9. Niamh Durnan; 1. Louise McLauchlan, 2. Megan Thomson, 3. Gemma Swankie (c); 4. Ashleigh Nelson, 5. Zoe Montgomerie; 6. Eilidh Thomson, 7. Laura Sommerville, 8. Lynda Morgan.

Replacements:

16. Lindsay Dick, 17. Stacy Wight, 18. Jackie O'Neil, 19. Sarah Paterson, 20. Lisa Main, 21. Phoebe McDowell, 22. Rachel Morrison.

Stewartry:

15. Jo Steel; 14. Hannah Sloan, 13. Chloe Johnstone, 12. Jenny Yates, 11. Kirsty McCleary; 10. Clare Manson, 9. Charlotte Bray; 1. Suzy Kirkpartrick, 2. Polly Day (c), 3. Shannon Nicolson; 4. Andrea Savile, 5. Petrina Sidebottom; 6. Dawn Currie, 7. Sammy Durnan, 8. Ali Henderson.

Replacements:

16. Mary Cameron, 17. Debs Swan, 18. Fiona Shedden, 19. Lorna Tracey, 20. Jo White.

- Eléna Hogarth.