Premier Cup: Kelly eager to go out with a final flourish

• Ayr captain Damien Kelly and Melrose counterpart Scott Wight will go head-to-head at Murrayfield today as the two teams lock horns in what promises to be a cracking Premier Cup final Picture: Kate Chandler

When Ayr skipper Damien Kelly runs out onto the Murrayfield turf this afternoon holding daughter Isabelle's hand and with his team-mates behind him he will be full of emotion, but determined to lift the Premier Cup for the Millbrae outfit.

The man known throughout Scottish rugby as 'Skippy' will be playing what, injury withstanding, will be his third last match in Scotland before he heads back to his native Australia.

And as his side prepare to take on Melrose at 4pm he admitted that he has taken time this week to look back on the good times he has had at the club who have become one of the main players in Scotland.

The second-row said: "I guess I have started to look back on my time in Scotland in recent days because it is beginning to sink in that I will be leaving in a few weeks.

"When I first played for Ayr down at Kelso in 2001 after a few months with Perthshire I could not have imagined that I would still be here in 2011."Then the club was much further down the leagues, but the way it has built up to be one of the leading clubs in Scotland makes me very proud.

"For the final against Melrose it will be great to have my daughter Isabelle as the team mascot, but as soon as the match begins all sentimentality will disappear and I will be as keen as anyone to lift my third trophy in three years as captain."

In season 2008/09 Kelly led Ayr to the Premier One championship and 12 months later they followed that up with a 36-23 final victory over today's opponents in the Scottish Cup as it was known then.

The Millbrae club could still win the double this season - a win today and victories over Melrose and Currie in Premier A over the next few weeks would secure that feat - and Kelly is confident that head coach Kenny Murray has picked a side that can do the job this afternoon.

"We are a close group who get on well together and we trained at a really high intensity this week," said Kelly.

"Now we just want to get out there and play and I will be intrigued to see how young Mark Bennett gets on for us.

"He has had a lot of attention this year and rightly so because for someone who has just turned 18 he has all the skills and the calm head to go far in the game."

On the opposite side leading his team out will be someone who Kelly has a lot of admiration for in Scott Wight.

Kelly said: "I have got to know Scotty well due to our involvement in the club international set-up together and he is a good guy who is also very talented.

"I know how proud he is to play for Melrose and I know he will be pulling out all the stops to beat us in the final." Over the past four years stand-off Wight has had a love-hate relationship with cup finals.

In 2007/08 he was named man of the match as the Borderers defeated Heriot's 31-24, while in 2008/09 his last minute penalty agonisingly hit the post as Heriot's held on to win 21-19.

And then 12 months ago Melrose were overrun in the defeat to Ayr and now he is back again looking to lift the trophy as captain for the first time.

Wight said: "We really had a great day last Saturday winning our own sevens in the sunshine at the Greenyards, but that was all soon forgotten this week at training and we are all really determined to get our hands on the silverware.

"This season our whole game has improved a lot and I think that by competing for titles in so many tournaments has helped us rather than hindered us."I really enjoy playing with the backline I have outside me and the back three have real pace to burn so hopefully we can get them on the ball as much as possible."

Being a local lad Wight knows the pressures that come with playing for Melrose, but he thrives on that having grown into one of the most competent stand-offs north of the border in recent years.

And like Kelly, he too has respect for his opposite number ahead of the big occasion.

"Damien has been a great guy to have around Scottish rugby over the last few years and when Ayr are down he tends to drive them on to greater things," added Wight.

"We will need to be wary of that in the final because they have quality performers all over the park

"We know that getting off to a good start is crucial and I think everyone that comes to watch will be in for a cracker."

Melrose

15 F Thomson

14 C Anderson

13 J Murray

12 J Helps

11 A Dodds

10 S Wight (c)

9 R Chrystie

1 N Beavon

2 W Mitchell

3 G Holborn

4 G Elder

5 R Miller

6 J Dalziel

8 G Dodds

7 G Runciman

Subs

16 G Innes

17 N Little

18 H Mitchell

19 S Johnson

20 S McCormick

21 C Jackson

22 C Murray

Ayr

15 G Anderson

14 S Manning

13 M Bennett

12 M Stewart

11 C Taylor

10 R Curle

9 AJ McFarlane

1 G Reid

2 S Adair

3 A Kelly

4 S Sutherland

5 D Kelly (c)

6 R Colhoun

8 A Dunlop

7 P Burke

Subs

16 S Fenwick

17 G Sykes

18 S Nimmo

19 D Stewart

20 G Tippett

21 D Steele

22 R McCallum