New recruits for 2015/16

The new season is fast approaching, and the coaching team has been busy recruiting players in the forwards and backs for 2015/16.  The BT Premiership will have an altered format this year, with the majority of the games played before Christmas and the play-off taking place after the Six Nations.

There will also be the BT Cup and Premiership development games, so it will be a packed schedule for faces old and new at Millbrae.

It has already been announced that scrum-half Ali Price and centre Archie Russell have joined Ayr from Stirling County.  Both are BT Sport Scottish Rugby Academy players.

Also new to the backs are former Glasgow Hawks winger Haddon McPherson and Russell McEwan from Whitecraigs.

Familiar faces Dougie Steele, Aidan Holland and Graham Hunter return from Dubai, Hull and Biggar respectively, and Frazier Climo comes back to Ayr after a period of playing professional rugby with Llanelli Scarlets.

Ayr RFC head coach Calum Forrester is glad to see the return of Climo.

"His experience in the professional game will be invaluable and will help develop the younger players around him."

In the forwards, hooker Lewis Anderson returns from GHA and joins new props Steven Longwell (Dundee), Sam Kenny (Kent) and Javan Sebastian (Wales).  In the back five, Lee Scott joins us from Dumfries.

The new season kicks off on Saturday 29th August against Glasgow Hawks at Old Anniesland, with the first home game a week later against Boroughmuir, but you can check out the new recruits during the pre-season friendlies throughout August.

Pre-season fixtures confirmed

With training well under-way at Auchencruive, the senior men's pre-season fixtures have been confirmed.  They're all away fixtures, which means, with the first match of the 2015/16 season against Glasgow Hawks at Old Anniesland, the Millbrae faithful won't get to see their players at home until September.  So, it's even more of a reason to catch them in these friendly matches, and get a first look at the new recruits.

Saturday 8th August - GHA.
Saturday 15th August - Falkirk and West of Scotland at Falkirk.
Saturday 22nd August - Blaydon.

Hunter pens short-term deal with Warriors

Glasgow Warriors today announced that Ayr prop George Hunter has signed a short-term deal with them.

23-year-old Hunter came through the Elite Development programme with the Pro12 side and has been involved with the Scotstoun team for the past five years whilst also playing for Ayr.

We look forward to seeing George, along with his fellow BT Premiership props Gary Strain and Steven Findlay (both of Glasgow Hawks), competing for a place in the Warriors' front row.

Read the full story from Glasgow Warriors here.

Forrester enrols on prestigious coaching course

Ayr head coach Calum Forrester is among the first to enrol on a coaching course new to Scottish Rugby.

In partnership with Edinburgh Napier University and sportscotland, the United Kingdom Coaching Certificate Level 4 aims to raise standards amongst Scotland's performance coaches.

Calum will begin the course this August at Napier's Sighthill Campus alongside seven others, including former Ayr head coach and current Glasgow Warriors assistant coach Kenny Murray.

It's a busy time for Calum, who will join Currie's head coach Ben Cairns at a player development camp with twenty-two promising youngsters in Valladolid, Spain.

Read the full story from the SRU here.