Melrose 12 - 22 Ayr: Visitors make it five wins from five at Greenyards

They were worthy winners, scoring three tries and restricting Melrose to just four penalties. Ayr remain the only team in the league with a perfect five wins from five outings.

The visitors were turned over time and again – Melrose flanker Grant Runciman was usually to blame – but Kenny Murray’s team has recruited well over the summer. Nick Cox and Callum Forrester impressed in the bump and grind department while the likes of Ross Curle and Grant Anderson are game-breaking backs.

After 20 minutes for Glasgow on Friday evening, Ruaridh Jackson got another 60 for the visitors yesterday afternoon. If the stand-off likes to set goals for himself it’s unlikely that he envisaged turning out in Ayr’s distinctive pink strip at the Greenyards after starting three World Cup matches for Scotland just one year ago. The Glasgow man enjoyed mixed fortunes. He distributed well and kicked from hand with pinpoint accuracy although the same claim could not be made for his efforts off the tee.

Jackson managed to fluff two early penalties, one of which he could have thrown through the posts, before finally nailing the conversion of Grant Anderson’s opening try from straight in front.

He finished with a patchy record of two from four at the posts.

At least Lady Luck was smiling on him yesterday because at the fag end of the first half Jackson tried a snap drop goal which headed straight towards the post – the corner post that is. It was so wayward it ended up as a very useful cross-field kick. Ayr lock Scott Sutherland was lurking on the left wing and scored the simplest try from Jackson’s error. It was a doubly useful strike, just before half time and when Ayr were short-handed with flanker Andy Dunlop in the sin bin for a high tackle.

Craig Gossman should have opened the scoring early on but the nippy winger put a foot in touch after a sublime give from Robbie Ferguson, who passes better blind than most players do when they are looking. Anderson’s opening score came from a loose Melrose kick which Ayr moved quickly right and the full-back still needed a kind bounce from his chip ahead to beat the full-back.

Anderson struck again early in the second half with the best try of the match. Replacement Ross Curle made the try with a half break and an offload, winger Craig Gossman acted as link man and Anderson had just enough gas to tiptoe up the right touchline without putting a foot on the whitewash.

Andrew Skeen’s third and fourth penalties ensured that Melrose stayed in this match and when replacement Ross Ovens showed an astonishing turn of pace for a lock it looked as if the home side would make up the seven-point deficit. That attack was thwarted but Ayr spent much of the final quarter on the back foot, tackling everything that moved and showing great character against the waves of attacks that Melrose threw at them in a brave attempt to turn the tide.

When the final score arrived it went to Ayr’s scrum-half Peter Jericevich, who knocked over a late penalty to deny Melrose the balm of a losing bonus point.

Scorers: Melrose: Pens: Skeen 4. Ayr: Tries: Anderson 2, Sutherland. Cons: Jackson 2. Pens Jericevich.

Melrose: Chalmers, White, McGrath, Mill, Helps; Skeen, McCormick; Little, Ferguson, Holborn, Eccles, Miller, Dalziel, Runciman, Nagle. Subs: Walker, Keen, Ovens, Colvine, Murray.

Ayr: Anderson, G Gossman, Ferguson, Dalgleish, K Gossman; Jackson, Jericevich; Mutamangira, Wisnewski, Cox, White, Sutherland, Fiskin, Dunlop, Forrester. Subs: Fenwick, Hunter, McCallum, Doneghan, Curle.

Referee: Andrew McMenemy (Gala RFC).