County humbled by rampant Ayr outfit
Failure to capitalise on a bright start
Ayr RFC .................. 43 Stirling County ...... 15 Stirling County fell to their second defeat of the league campaign as they were unable to halt a rampaging Ayr side.
The County travelled to Millbrae and for a spell took the game to their hosts.
But a battling Ayr side stormed back from a 12-3 deficit early on to romp to a comfortable 43-15 win.
County were typically fast out of the starting blocks and made the most of their territorial advantage and agile back–line by grabbing the first try inside the opening nine minutes. From a penalty line-out, fly-half Andrew Goudie sent Niko Matawalu charging down the near side touchline with a floated miss pass, and the Fijian and Glasgow Warrior winger then produced a magical reverse pass to the on-rushing Macgarvie, who crossed for the score.
Goudie’s extras gave County an early 7-0 lead to which they added barely 10 minutes later, through second–rower Ross Bundy.
Still reeling from their early concession, Ayr failed to stop the charging Bundy close to their own line after waves of County pressure.
While Frazier Climo’s 10th-minute penalty brought the hosts back to within four points, County were, at this stage, reaping the rewards of sustained possession.
However, Blair Macpherson then touched down for the hosts after County lost Craig Robertson to the sin–bin for a high tackle on Kyle Rowe, after a punishing rolling maul from the resulting penalty line-out.
Approaching the break, Rowe then finished off the move of the half, after a brilliant counter-attack from Grant Anderson. Climo’s two conversions gave Ayr a 17–15 half-time lead.
Ayr began their surge to victory courtesy of several battering charges from Marshall Sykes and David Corbenici, which created the space out wide for Rowe to complete his brace in the corner.
Further pressure in key areas of the field allowed Corbenici to grab a try of his own entering the final quarter of an hour, while County struggled physically to keep up.
The visitors suffered a myriad injuries throughout the second period and lost prop Remy Chies and Macgarvie.
Ayr didn’t let up and Macpherson barged over for his second and Ayr’s fifth try to bury the match as a contest.
Dutchman Amir Rademaker put the final nail in the coffin of a severely tiring County in the final minute and Climo orchestrated a sensational coast–to– coast try to conclude the 43–15 rout.
Ayr: G Anderson; K Rowe, P Kelly, D McCluskey, K Rowe; F Climo, A Rademaker; S Longwell, R Smith, E McLaren, A Davidson, M Sykes, D Corbenici, T Spinks, B Macpherson. Subs: A McGuire, R Sayce, A Law, D Armstrong, S McDowall.
Stirling County: C Robertson; R Tagive, E Macgarvie, G Hughes, N Matawalu; A Goudie, P Jericevich; R Chies, R Kennedy, M Walker, J Pow, R Bundy, G Arnott, S MacDonald, H Burr. Subs: L Brymer, B Dineen, D McLaren, B Thomson, J Hope.
Stirling scorers – Tries: Magarvie, Bundy; Cons: Goudie; Pens Goudie.