Ayr v Gala preview

Ayr welcome Gala to Millbrae on Saturday for round thirteen of the BT Premiership, kicking off at 3pm, and the home team will be boosted by the presence of Glasgow Warrior Junior Bulumakau.

The Fijian-born, Scottish-raised winger was signed by the Scotstoun side from the British Army in the summer, and has previously played in the BT Premiership for Heriot's.  He'll no doubt get a warm welcome from the Millbrae faithful as he makes his Ayr debut.

The fans will be keen to see their team get back to winning ways after a frustrating afternoon at the Greenyards last weekend, where injury, illness and the might of Melrose combined to inflict upon Ayr their first defeat in eight games.

Ayr head coach Calum Forrester sees this week's match as the perfect opportunity to bounce back, but knows that although Gala are currently ninth in the table, there are never any easy games in this league.

'Gala will be coming to Millbrae full of confidence following their victory over Hawks.  Our fixture earlier in the season was a close encounter and our defence will need to improve from last week if we are to get the win.'

Partnering Bulumakau on the wing is returnee Haddon McPherson, whilst Frazier Climo has overcome an eye injury sustained during the first half last week to remain at stand-off.

Blair Macpherson and Andrew Dunlop team up in the second row, with Callum Templeton starting at blindside flanker after making a very welcome return from a long-term ankle injury as a substitute last week.

There's a very sturdy bunch of forwards on the bench, with Cameron Taylor and Archie Russell adding speed.

Ayr:
15. Grant Anderson; 14. Haddon McPherson, 13. Ross Curle (c), 12. Danny McCluskey, 11. Junior Bulumakau; 10. Frazier Climo, 9. David Armstrong; 1. George Hunter, 2. Lewis Anderson, 3. Javan Sebastian; 4. Blair Macpherson, 5. Andrew Dunlop; 6. Callum Templeton, 7. Will Bordill, 8. Pete McCallum.

Replacements:
16. David Young, 17. Steven Longwell, 18. D'arcy Rae, 19. Cameron Taylor, 20. Archie Russell.

Gala:
15. Graham Speirs; 14. Frankie Robson, 13. Dwayne Burrows, 12. Alan Emond, 11. Keith Young; 10. David O'Hagan, 9. George Graham; 1. Luke Pettie, 2. Richie Tod, 3. Chris Keen; 4. Callum Rowlandson, 5. Chris Weir (c); 6. Rob Louw, 7. Gary Adams, 8. Euan Dods.

Replacements:
16. Gary Robertson, 17. Josh Irvine, 18. Craig Borthwick, 19. Ross Livingston, 20. Craig Dods.

Kick-off 3pm!

Ayr 2nd XV v Gala A kicks off at 2pm and you can follow their scores live via the Ultimate Rugby app.