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Scottish Hydro Electric Premiership: Ayr prepare for the onslaught
Ayr find themselves at the front of a reinvigorated pack ready to fight it out in the Scottish Hydro Electric Premiership, finds Neil Drysdale.


One of the most heart-warming stories in Scottish rugby arrived last March when Ayr surged to their first-ever Scottish Hydro Electric Premiership title with a coruscating 20-8 victory over Edinburgh Academicals at their packed Millbrae ground.

In many respects, the afternoon epitomised the values which had brought success to the club; there was a genuine community spirit, allied to a sense that this was merely a stepping stone to greater things. The regular cries from the stands of “C’mon Skippy” testified to how the team’s redoubtable Australian captain, Damien Kelly, has grown into a cult figure, as much for his barnstorming runs through opposing defences as his desire to preach to the unconverted throughout Ayrshire’s schools in his role as development officer.

Next weekend, Kelly’s heroes will begin their bid to retain their title when they host Heriots FP – runners-up last time around - and it is a measure of how Scotland’s clubs have picked themselves up and learned to thrive on their own initiative that the new season is arriving with renewed optimism amongst the country’s grassroots organisations.

Ayr, for instance, may have relinquished the services of several pivotal performers from their title-winning squad, such as the French duo, Julian Montoro and Florian Marin, Australian, Jeff Wilson and talented Scottish youngster, Richard McCallum. But they have recruited well, bringing in such exciting individuals as National Academy product, Jamie Hunter, New Zealanders, Mark Stewart and Jonathan Crossan, and the former Viadana player, Ross Curle, in addition to unearthing several outstanding home-grown prospects, including Cammy Taylor, Johnny McClung and Stephen Adair.

Yet nobody in the Ayr ranks has any illusions about the scale of the challenge ahead. “We had an element of surprise 12 months ago, but we appreciate that we are there to be shot at and we know we will be going into a cup final situation every weekend,” says their relentlessly perfectionist coach, Kenny Murray, one of Scotland’s brightest and most innovative rugby thinkers.

“We’ve heard on the grapevine that several other clubs have recruited well and we could hardly have asked for a more difficult start, because Heriots finished last season on a high by winning the Scottish Cup. But this is where we want to be and it will be a test of our resources in the months ahead, given that we don’t just have the Premiership, but we are also in the [inaugural] British and Irish Cup along with Heriots and that competition is going to be a step into the dark for everyone.”

Murray believes that Ayr will face a concerted challenge from Heriots, Melrose and Glasgow Hawks in particular, but he is quietly confident that the likes of Kelly and influential stand-off, Frazier Climo, will hit the ground running on Saturday.

In the past three seasons, the Premiership has been dominated by Currie, Boroughmuir and then Ayr, with the championship virtually settled by Christmas in every case, but Murray is convinced this new campaign could go down to the wire, a conviction founded on two central strands. Firstly, the levels of fitness and ball skills have improved markedly throughout the teams in the top tier, meaning there are precious few walk-overs on the circuit any more.

And, secondly, the 12 clubs in the highest echelon, from Ayr and Heriots to the promoted Stew-Mel FP and Dundee HSFP, are all packed with young talent, in addition to being bolstered by the SRU’s draft system. In short, the Premiership is more intensive, physically demanding and competitive than it has ever been.

“We expect things to be tough, but we have shown what we are capable of achieving and I don’t think any side in the division will fancy coming down to Millbrae, considering how we have managed to turn it into a bit of a fortress,” says Kelly, a 6ft 5in lock from New South Wales, with an instinctive knack for punching holes in opposing defences.

“It probably helps that we are not based in Glasgow or Edinburgh, and, therefore, we have a big catchment area to ourselves, as far as the Premiership is concerned. So in that respect, I guess that we are lucky. We don’t have a situation where Boroughmuir, Heriots, Watsonians, Stew-Mel and so on are chasing the same audience, week in week out.

“But I reckon that, for the most part, you make your own luck. And the harder our players, coaches and committee members work, the better things seem to get. Ever since Kenny arrived here last summer, he has asked everybody in the squad to accept greater responsibility, trust our instincts, and do more than simply stick the ball up our jumpers and rely on the domination of our pack. That has definitely paid dividends.

“We are all aware that we haven’t reached our potential yet, but we are in this together and there is a big buzz around the club. It’s really exciting to be involved with Ayr just now and that is reflected everywhere you look, whether it is at mini rugby level, among the S1s, at club functions, or in local schools from Carrick and Girvan to Ayr and Marr.”

Their success proves that club rugby in Scotland still has the capacity to surprise and inspire and it was a joy to behold Ayr’s march to the Premiership crown, even if the task ahead is formidable.

They will have to withstand an ever-improving Melrose, a Heriots squad packed with youthful vigour, a reinvigorated Glasgow Hawks, and contain the menace from the likes of Watsonians, West of Scotland, Selkirk and Currie, if there is to be any repetition of the jubilant scenes which enveloped Millbrae last winter.

This article was posted on 24-Aug-2009, 12:29 by Hugh Barrow.