Callum Kerr @ the Greenyards
This evening the Ayrshire Bulls cruised to a 24-45 victory over the Southern Knights at the Greenyards. Despite an early penalty for the Knights, a try in the first ten minutes for the Bulls put them ahead and they didn’t look back from then on.
The hosts opened the scoring through Callum Grieve after eight minutes. The lead was short-lived, with the Bulls leaping ahead two minutes later. An inside ball to Eli Caven put the full-back through the line before an audacious goose-step propelled him past the final defender to dot down.
A try minutes later extended the lead for Pat MacArthur’s men. Frazier Climo, in his return to the side, ghosted through an elusive tackle before freeing up Jamie Shedden to score. Caven’s conversion made it 3-12.
The Bulls third came soon after. This time opting for route one, Grant Stewart continued his fine scoring form by bundling over from the back of a maul.
The Southern Knights ended the half on a positive. A try from Ben McLean on the stroke of half time thrusted the borders side back into contention.
Half-time: Southern Knights 10-19 Ayrshire Bulls
The Bulls started the second half in the same form as the first. Within ten minutes they were in again. A collapsed maul on the Knight’s line resulted in a penalty try and yellow card, extending the lead to 10-26.
Two tries within minutes of each other took the match away from the Knights. The first, from Rory Jackson, was a lunge from inches out. The second, by Luca Bardelli, was a length of the field breakaway from the restart.
Jamie Campbell clawed a score back for the Knights but instant retaliation from Blair Macpherson chalked off the difference.
The Knights didn’t let the score line dampen their spirits. Playing hard till the bitter end, they secured a late score with a minute left on the clock. After ten minutes of control Clark Skeldon breezed under the posts to narrow the final margin.
Full-time: Southern Knights 24-45 Ayrshire Bulls
A handful of Bulls put their hand up for FOSROC Player of the Match honours but as so often is the case, Blair Macpherson’s raised the highest.
The skipper put in an industrious eighty minutes. Setting up a try and adding his own were just glimpses of his meteoric efforts around the park.