Callum Kerr @ Meggetland
This evening the Ayrshire Bulls finished their regular season campaign with a 21-33 victory over Boroughmuir Bears at Meggetland.
After Friday night’s encounter at Myreside it was confirmed that regardless of this result both the Bulls and Bears would face off in next week’s semi-final at Millbrae – leaving tonight’s match as a prequal for what is to come. With both parties knowing the script this end of season match gained some extra spice, resulting in a far more scrappy affair than may have been predicted.
The Bulls enjoyed the bulk of possession over the opening exchanges, but a resilient Bears defence kept them at bay. Both Alex McGuire and Cam Jones managed to cross the try line, but a double movement followed by a held-up ball denied the visitors.
Eventually a score would come from a Bears mistake. The home side had done the hard part to haul the Bulls into touch yards short, but a faulty line out gifted Alex McGuire a second trip over the line and this one would stand. Will hunt made it a 0-7 lead.
The second score was a more aesthetic effort. After 30 minutes of play in the tight the Bulls decided to spread their wings. Blair Macpherson eyed up contact before opting to send Jamie Shedden on a run. The centre did well to suck in the remaining defenders and offload to the charging Eli Caven, who couldn’t be caught.
The score ignited some frantic exchanges, with the Bulls racing back over a few minutes later followed by Boroughmuir’s first of the day. Ayr’s score came through Will Hunt who flirted with the notion of a pass before doing the work himself. He cut through the line then rode contact to get over.
Half-time: Boroughmuir Bears 7-19 Ayrshire Bulls
The second half started at a similar flying pace. Boroughmuir Bears struck first but Bulls Skipper Blair Macpherson forced his way over moments later to counteract the home score.
The Bulls final score was a second for Eli Caven. The winger picked up possession in the middle of the field before a step off his right foot and change of pace propelled him through a handful of empty hands and towards the line. With Caven approaching the final defender he managed to flash his electric footwork and put the Boroughmuir man off-balance, gliding by for a scintillating score.
With both sides set to face each other in seven days’ time the intensity only grew. What would have been a dead rubber fixture at the end of the season now had a lot on the line with crucial momentum up for grabs. The emotion spilled over a few times in the dying embers, and a lack of discipline cost Pat MacArthur’s men. In amongst the mayhem Jordan Lenac picked up a yellow card for a deliberate knock-on.
With their tails up, and a man advantage, Boroughmuir grabbed a final score to narrow the margin.
Full-time: Boroughmuir Bears 21-33 Ayrshire Bulls
In what was a characteristically scrappy match, the Bulls point of difference was their wide men, and Eli Caven’s touch of class earned him FOSROC Player of the Match honours.
No rest for the wicked, and at the same time next week the Bulls will welcome Boroughmuir to Millbrae with a spot in the FOSROC Super6 final up for grabs. The match gets underway at 17.00.