Ayr prove the bosses as Chieftains falter

said Cairns. “We made too many mental errors and our overall execution was bad.”

Cairns did credit Ayr for their ability to take chances and their defensive strength, something home coach Peter Murchie also highlighted.

“Our defence pleased me,” he said, “while that try on half-time was a big score for us,” said Murchie, reflecting on the display from his young side. “The guys who came in did well, I took a lot of plusses from that win.”

Paddy Kelly scored a try in each half and Kyle Rowe and David Corbenici got the others, with Frazier Climo kicking ten points. Fraser Watt’s try and Gregor Hunter’s penalty had Currie 10-7 ahead before Rowe’s try gave Ayr a 14-10 half-time lead. Robbie Nelson’s opportunist try gave Currie hope, quickly snuffed out by Climo’s second penalty.

Stirling County may be sitting in a play-off spot after two games but coach Eddie Pollock has warned that the real tests are still to come and his players will not get a clear picture of how competitive they really are for another month or more.

He was broadly satisfied with the performance against Edinburgh Academicals, reasoning it had matched the skill and physicality of their defeat at Watsonians but added the patience which allowed them to convert chances into scores.

Was it enough to make them play-off contenders? Ask again in four weeks, said Pollock – by then they