It has been a poor start to life in the Women's Tennent's Premiership for Ayr Ladies, but you would have been hard-pressed to find someone sulking at final whistle today.An emphatic 43-17 win over Cartha Ladies was the perfect remedy for any doubt, with Ayr leapfrogging their opposition at the bottom of the table and keeping hopes alive.
Jo Jones opened proceedings with an impressive try even for her lofty standards. The number eight flirted with a conventional forward carry before executing a chip 'n' chase deep in her own half. She managed to get to the fleeing ball quickest and hacked on to dive over the line. A 16-minute hat-trick for Robyn Gibson followed taking the game away from the visitors. All three scores came in a similar vein for the speedster, working off her midfield partner Connie Griffiths to torch past the defence out wide.Half-time: Ayr Ladies 24-0 Cartha Ladies.In previous fixtures this season the half-time break has acted as a hindrance as a pose to a help, but today Ayr changed the script, with Jo Jones bagging her brace from the restart.A Cartha double in quick succession subdued the Ayr crowd before Chloe Johnston powered over to mark her debut with a score.Vice-captain Erin McSorley was next to cross, snapping up an easy run-in courtesy of skipper Catherine Shennan, who duly converted.The final score in the game came from Cartha, who reaped the reward of some late-game pressure.Full-time: Ayr Ladies 43-17 Cartha Ladies. Photo - George McMillan