Cumnock / Kilmarnock S2 Cougars 7 - Ayr 16

Scotland stand-off Dan Parks was spotted amongst the large crowd that gathered to watch the game, he must have heard about the great rugby being played by the Cumnock / Kilmarnock Cougars.

In the first period both sets of players seemed to be evenly matched, with the Cougars closing down the Ayr runners whenever they were on the ball. However a couple of telling breaks by the Ayr outside centre punched holes in the Cougars defence and two converted tries were soon in the bag for the visitors. The home team started to string together some nice passes and some determined play put Callan Gordon in for a try.

The second period was intense with fierce tackling from both teams. Indiscipline from the Ayr forwards saw the penalty count swing in favour of the Cougars but the Ayr defence held firm. The Cougars were winning the scrums, with hooker Robbie McLaren taking a couple of strikes against the head. However the possession could not be turned into points and some superb tackling from Ayr kept the home team at bay.A couple of breakaway tries against the run of play saw Ayr take a 16-3 lead into the final period.

The Cougars threw everything at the visitors in the last period and Ayr were reduced to 14 players after their prop decided to take the law into his own hands. This fired up the Cougars and some great driving runs and quick passing saw Taylor Howie over for a deserved score, converted by David Smith. The Cougars were the better team in this period but unfortunately time was against them and Ayr held on to close out the game.

This was only the second defeat of the season at Broomfield for the team and the players were annoyed that hey have still not beaten this Ayr team. The visiting coaches however praised the Cougars on their improved performance and noted that these games are getting closer.Innes Barr made his debut, playing in the forwards and Thomas Bowditch made a first start at full-back. All of the players played well in a very intense match and the coaches have promised them a well deserved break for the East weekend.

Team
T Bowditch, G Paxton, T Howie, G Aitken, G Wight, D Smith, A Kerr, S McEwan, R McLaren, A Harkiss, S Faulds, R Phillips (I Barr),C Hamilton, C Gordon, J Reilly