Arnold Clark Men's Premiership: Ayr edge epic top of the table clash against Heriot's

03/22/2025 04:16 PM

Ayr 29

Heriot’s 17

LEWIS STUART @ Millbrae

IN an epic match that swung both ways, Ayr prevailed in the final 10 minutes to complete the double over Heriot's, their nearest rivals. The result, which takes them past the 100-point mark in the league, means they are now assured of home ties however far they go in the play-offs.

Make no mistake, Ayr's ability to eke out wins is remarkable, but Heriot's gave as good as they got in a game that was a perfect advert for the quality of top-end Premiership rugby. If they had managed to get the ball to ground in the final move of the game, the visitors would have collected a brace of bonus points that not even the Ayr faithful would have begrudged them.

Heriot's had been in front at the break, lost the lead soon after the teams returned to the pitch, but then twice levelled things up before two tries in the final minutes made the final score look more comfortable than it had ever been on the pitch.

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"You can't replicate that kind of attrition," was the verdict from Grant Anderson, the winning coach. "We try it as much as we can in training, but it is only in these games that we come up against it. I had full faith in the boys that if we put our system together and played with more patience, we'd get over the line — that's probably what we saw in the last 15 minutes.

"We pride ourselves on our defence, we have done all season. Against the second-best team in the league, we still held them to 17, so I'm pleased. I'm pleased with the heart, determination and grit. We don't want to lose at home – ever. This has to be a horrible place to come, and it seems to have been that way so far this season."

It says a lot about the sheer quality of the match that even in defeat, Bob McKillop, the Heriot's coach, reckoned it had been one of their best performances of the season.

"The first thing is, it was a good game of rugby," he pointed out. "It was physical, with two good teams really going at it. Our boys loved it. They also loved the home game against Ayr.

"I thought it was a great atmosphere, too. Ayr get a lot of stick from parts of Scottish rugby, but they're a proper rugby club. There's a good crowd, they've got a good team, and we should celebrate that.

"I'm really, really pleased with the way we played. That was one of our best performances this season. At 24-17, the score was just about fair, or if we had got the ball down at the end, that would have been fair too. I was delighted with the way we played, the way we fronted up."

Heriot’s have a potentially tricky semi-final against Watsonians coming up, and if they win that, they are likely to be coming back to Millbrae for the final, so it gave them a good idea of what to expect if they do, and the one big lesson they will take away is that if they can work out how to counter the Ayr maul, they can give as good as they get in open play.

All season, the talk has been about how these two teams have broken clear of the rest of the Premiership in terms of quality, and nothing in this game dispelled that. After winning both league fixtures, arguably Ayr have the edge in this top-of-the-table rivalry, but they know that if they do meet again in the final, there is a serious threat there.

In the end, it was that maul that made the difference between the teams, with three of the home side's tries coming from that phase while the visitors rarely made much of their drives, with only one try resulting from numerous attempts. There was an early lesson when Ayr ignored easy penalty points, kicked for the corner, and reaped the rewards, with hooker James Malcolm emerging from the pile of bodies with the ball.

Heriot's were no mugs, though, and after setting up the pressure with a 50-22, they won a couple of mauls on the home line before releasing the ball to the backs, where fly-half Ross Jones picked out wing Zac Ross for the levelling score, with Jones's conversion edging them in front.

Ayr should have regained the lead after driving their next maul to within a couple of feet of the line but squandered the chance as the ball went out to the backs despite having men over, and Heriot's didn't just relieve the pressure but were soon back on the attack. Jones found space with a clever dink to the corner, and Thomas Glendinning only just failed to get to his follow-up kick before the ball went dead.

Heriot's thought they deserved more when full-back Dan King was tackled as he kicked to set up a race to the corner between Ross and Ayr wing Adam McGowan, but it ended tamely in a knock-on instead, and another half-chance went begging.

The visitors were certainly giving the home side a scare, with flanker Sam Wallace popping up all over the place and creating havoc, while their willingness to spread the ball to the wings at every chance was keeping Ayr on the back foot for long periods.

What they were struggling to do was convert all that good work into scores, not helped by losing Wallace after he took a heavy hit in open play. They finished the half on the attack and with a narrow lead, but the game remained very much in the balance.

That balance changed slightly early in the second half when Ayr won a couple of penalties, kicked to the corner, and again set up a maul for Malcolm to score, giving them the edge as the match moved towards the final quarter.

Heriot's still had their chances, not least with a series of driving mauls on the home line, but after getting so much joy from their backs, they kept it up front and relied on the big forwards. Just as it looked as though they had blown the opportunity, the decision was vindicated as they took a leaf from Ayr's book, with the maul driving over the line and No 8 Ruaridh Leishman emerging with the ball.

That levelled things up, but just as it looked like the stalemate might last, Ayr got their noses back in front. They had carved a break in midfield, but it was going nowhere until the ball was released to the backs, where No 8 Blair Macpherson got his first chance to run in open field, and he took full advantage, battering his way through the first tackle and then racing past the rest of the defence.

Now it was Heriots’ turn to find a way back into the game, which they did spectacularly, with the forwards making ground and the backs finding gaps until they won a penalty. Leishman tapped and, after being held short once, recycled the ball to get over the line at the second time of asking.

With Jones's conversion coming back off the upright, the scores were level again, but it didn't stay that way for long, as Ayr kicked another penalty to the corner. With the maul motoring to the line, Heriot's pulled it down, conceding a penalty try, with lock Jamie Campbell sent to the bin for his role in giving away the points.

That sapped the energy out of Heriot's, with replacement wing Luca Bardelli adding some gloss to the final score with a late try. Heriot's did have a chance to grab a well-earned couple of bonus points in defeat, but could not get the ball to ground in the final move of the game.

It had been full-blooded, thunderous, and exciting, but in the end, Ayr just had the big-game understanding when it mattered.

Teams –

Ayr: C Hyde; T Lanni, J Shedden, R Orr, A McGowan; A Stirrat, F Johnston; J Drummond, J Malcolm, C Henderson, E Bloodworth, R Jackson, R Sweeney, T Brown, B Mcpherson. Subs: J McAughtrie, C Rae, R Tanner, O Baird, L McNamara, D McCartney, L Bardelli.

Heriot's: D King; Z Ross, K Kutsuna, F Gibson, T Glendinning; R Jones, S Broad; C Keen, M Liness, S Cessford, J Hill, J Campbell, R Kirkpatrick, S Wallace, R Leishman. Subs: A Johnston, A Munro, A Bogle, M Keough, C Anderson, A Reid, P Christie.

Referee: Ciaran Stark

Scorers –

Ayr: Tries: Malcolm 2, MacPherson, Penalty Try, Bardelli; Con: Johnston.

Heriot's: Tries: Ross, Leishman 2. Con: Jones

Scoring sequence (Ayr first): 5-0; 5-5-; 5-7 (h-t) 10-7; 12-7; 12-12; 17-12; 17-17; 22-17; 24-17; 29-17.

Yellow card –

Heriot's: Campbell (73 mins)

Player-of-the-Match: Hard to pick individuals out in a game where team ethics ruled. Sam Wallace was the pick of the first half that Heriot's edged but when it came down to it, the maul was Ayr's killer weapon with James Malcolm, the hooker calling the shots to grab two tries and claim the Award.

Talking Point: There is a fair amount of negativity around some circles but that was a full-blooded advert for what the game could be in Scotland with both sides in full flow in their contrasting styles. Build on this and club rugby would have a solid future.

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