RUGBY MARR RFC AYR RFC LATEST WITH CALLUM KERR
Marr Rugby’s first fixtures of Spring saw some of the best team performances of the season to date.
The 1st XV completed their league fixtures with an emphatic 59-17 win against Jed Forest, scoring nine tries along the way, including four from Man-of-theMatch Jamie Shedden.
Marr’s starting line up included Grant Baird, making his first start in three years and it also saw Angus and Ben Johnston make their first start in the same team since 2019.
Playing in ideal conditions it was Baird who started the play that set up Marr’s first try.
With only eight minutes played he released Jamie Shedden who found space to break through the defence and into Jed territory.
As the cover defence closed him down he passed to Gregor Paxton (sponsored by Hugh Smith) and in turn he offloaded to Colin Sturgeon who was able to run in and score in the corner.
Sturgeon converted his own try to give Marr the perfect start.
Ten minutes later Marr added a second and once again; Baird was central to the break made by Blair Jardine who burst through Jed’s defence to score under the posts.
As Marr started to settle into a good rhythm Jed gave a sharp reminder of the threat they posed.
An attacking move broke down midfield as a pass was dropped.
Jed’s Gregor Young reacted fastest and
pounced on the loose ball, scooped it up and raced home from 50 metres.
As the home support were still savouring their score Marr’s response was immediate and merciless.
Three further tries were added before the half time whistle gave Jed some respite, with Marr leading 33-7.
In the second half Marr continued to play fast and loose and on 45 minutes got try number six.
Calum Inglis put in a sweet chip over Jed’s defence and supporting runner Robert Brown was able to catch the ball and pop a scoring pass to Dougie Steel.
Jed refused to lie down and earned two further tries but that was the end of their scoring while Marr added three more to leave the travelling support purring with delight.
It was the best all round performance Marr have delivered so far this season.
Marr Rugby 1st XV scorers and Dough Pizza man of the match- Tries: Colin Sturgeon; Angus Johnston; Jamie Shedden (4); Blair Jardine; Dougie Steele and Sinjin Broad. Conversions: Colin Sturgeon (7). Man of the match: Jamie Shedden (sponsored by DM Homeshield).
The Premiership now moves to the top four play-off stage, with Currie, Hawick, Edinburgh Accies and Marr vying for the title.
The 1st XV’s attention is now on the play-off semi-final against Hawick March 26 at Fullarton.
On the same date Currie take on Edinburgh Accies and the play-off final is set for April 2.
At the same time as the 1s were winning at Riverside Park, the 3rd XV were doing a demolition job on Cumnock’s 2nd XV.
Power, pace and fitness produced 10 tries and won the day, making it 11 wins from 11 matches.
The 3s are enjoying their best season yet and have a great chance to close out the league title in their next fixture.
Marr Rugby 3rd XV scorers and man of the match- Tries: Ali Craig; Aston Kerr (3); David Craig (2); Thomas Watkins (2); Craig Starkey and Euan McGerty
Conversions: Thomas Watkins (5) and David Craig. Man of the match: Thomas Watkins
Marr Rugby’s next fixtures for Saturday, March 12; 3s – AWAY v Cambuslang (Kickoff time to be confirmed).
Ayr fell short at Myreside in a 52-point stunner.
It was a result that could have gone either way and with just two minutes left, Ayr could have squeaked a victory.
However, Watsonians showed their mettle to stretch the lead and secure a 31-21 final score.
Watsonians came out all guns blazing from the first whistle.
An early penalty, followed by a converted score shortly after, put them 10 points clear.
Ayr bagged a try of their own through Ben Paterson, before Ritchie Simpson’s conversion made it a three-point game.
Watsonians mustered their next score from relative obscurity.
All winger Jamie Stove needed was a metre head start on his defender to show off his wheels and sprint clear out wide.
The touchline conversion concluded the scoring before the interval.
In the second half Ayr made it a 17-14 game when Moe Zimmerman galloped valiantly and managed to unleash a speculative offload when brought down.
The ball didn’t find the intended target of Danny McCluskey, but the centre managed to hack on and win the foot race for the ball over the line. Richie Simpson added the extras.
From then on it became a shoot-out. Watsonians would score to make it a 10-point game, then Ayr would retaliate in similar fashion to make it three.
Watsonians made it 24-14 first, with Fraser Cousin taking full advantage of Ayr sleeping on a quick tap.
True to script, Scott Clelland wrestled his way over to return the favour.
Unfortunately for Ayr the definitive score would be Watsonians’ next before they ran down the clock to win by 10 points.