Callum Kerr @ Millbrae
Ayr’s undefeated run at Millbrae came to an end on Saturday courtesy of a 10-18 defeat to Highland. Stuart Fenwick’s men were successful in all five of their home fixtures prior to the match but left it too late to catch Highland who controlled much of the territory straight from the off.
Ayr didn’t deal a blow until 74 minutes in, with two late tries only managing to flatter the final scoreline.
Head Coach Stuart Fenwick expressed frustration at full time with the result fresh in his mind: “I’m really disappointed. We started playing rugby with ten minutes to go and we scored two tries. We allowed them to dictate the pace of the game, we allowed them to dictate the physicality of the game – we didn’t step up – that’s the frustrating side of it”.
Expressing positives from the result, Ayr’s late flurry managed to convince Fenwick that his side can play when called upon: “The positive is that with ten to go when we needed to score we looked dangerous. If we did that for the first seventy minutes it would have been a different game.
“Fair play to Highland. They did exactly what they needed to do. They limited our opportunities to play rugby, they nullified our threats out wide forcing us to keep it tight. We didn’t react well which we needed to do and we spoke about that during the week. I think that’s why everyone, including the players, are a bit frustrated”.
Although it was a team performance Ayr will be happy to put behind them, Fenwick named skipper Cameron Reece his player of the match. The number eight seemed to be everywhere during the game and at points looked like he would single-handedly drag the side back into contention.
Ayr will look to right their wrongs this coming Saturday when they travel to the Borders to face Gala. The action kicks off at 15.00.
It was similar fortunes for Ayr/Millbrae, who lost 23-12 away to Stirling Wolves 2XV.