Finals come at double

Slot in league shoot-out booked seven days after place sealed in cup showpiece. By David Barnes

AYR progressed to the BT Premiership play-off Grand Final against Melrose at The Greenyards on April 15 as deserved victors yesterday, but Hawks are due credit for the way they battled throughout.

This was the second meeting in as many weeks between the two teams, but whereas the visitors were comprehensively outplayed in almost every facet of the game in last weekend’s BT Cup semi-final, this time we got a real battle to befit the occasion.

Seven new faces in the side after last week’s hammering – six of them part of the Glasgow Warriors set-up – undoubtedly made a huge difference for Hawks, but the flipside was that a lack of continuity ultimately proved to be their downfall. Ayr have been building their squad for a number of years and there is a sense of community in the team.

Hawks have a different model at the moment, with a heavy reliance on young players from the Scottish Rugby Academy set-up, who tend to be involved in the national Under-20 programme and eyeing up professional contracts. Individually they are excellent, but they don’t play together every week.

This explains why Ayr made fewer mistakes and showed more composure at key moments. In stand-off Frazier Climo they have probably the best game manager in the league, and he once again pulled the strings like a master puppeteer.

“We knew Hawks would be hurting after last week so the challenge we gave the boys was to take it to the next level in terms of physicality and speed,” home head coach Calum Forrester said.

“I can’t praise the effort of the players enough, or the maturity they showed to wipe the scoreboard clean at half-time and go out and execute what we’ve been practising over the last couple of weeks to nail down the win.”

Ayr drew first blood when Archie Russell went over from close range. Hawks weren’t helped by the fact they played 20 minutes of the first half with 14 men after Stephen Findlay was yellow-carded for a late hit on Ayr hooker Lewis Anderson, with Sean Yacoubian then given the same punishment for a tip tackle on Pete McCallum. The man advantage finally told, with Grant Anderson and the excellent Danny McCluskey going over before half-time.

The hosts got their fourth try through Robert McAlpine at the start of the second-half. Matt Fagerson struck back for Hawks, but Anderson and Ross Curle grabbed two more tries for Ayr.

However, Curle was then sent off for a no-arms tackle on Jack Steele and faces an anxious wait to find out if he will be involved in the upcoming finals.

Hawks were also awarded a penalty try at that point, and the indiscipline continued when Anderson saw yellow for a high tackle on George Horne.

Fagerson scored his second at the death, to give the final scoreline a respectability which Hawks undoubtedly deserved.