Ayr 32 - 24 Melrose: Leaders made to work for win

Scorers: Ayr: Tries: Cox, Wisnewski, Kelbrick, Gossman, Forrester. Cons: Russell 2. Pen: Russell. Melrose: Tries: Penalty tries 2, Dalziel. Cons: Skeen 3. Pen: Skeen.

The home side were almost unstoppable for much of this match, certainly the first half hour, but coach Kenny Murray will rue his team’s problems at the set scrum which allowed Melrose to stay in the contest by milking two penalty tries.

For Ayr Glasgow professional Nick Campbell bossed the sidelines. Man of the match Finn Russell looked the part at stand-off and the forwards were able to maul Melrose backwards almost at will.

In one kick-off return the two centres, Ross Curle and Dean Kelbrick, ran the ball back fully 50 metres and Ayr’s stonewall defence was in stark contrast to Melrose, whose lights were stuck at green for long periods.

Only in the set scrum did Ayr suffer by comparison and Melrose made this advantage count. In fact, it was the only thing that kept them in this match. The visitors were not helped by losing Zimbabwean international prop Denton Mutamangira midway through the first half but they were struggling even before he limped off holding his hamstring.

This match looked done and dusted after half an hour, by which time the home team were cruising with three tries in the bag and the prospect of a good many more if things continued in the same vein. Prop Nick Cox was driven over from an attacking lineout. Hooker Hayden Wisnewski burrowed over from short range and Kelbrick showed pace and power to score from 30 yards out.

In fact the opening half hour was so one-sided that Melrose rarely set foot in the Ayr half and only got there thanks to the chronic indiscipline of the home team. Indeed the visitors failed to break into the Ayr 22 until over 30 minutes had passed but, when they finally enjoyed some pressure at the tail end of the first half, they made it count.

Andrew Skeen kicked a penalty and, with the last play of the half, the Melrose set scrum earned a penalty try. From staring at a 17-0 deficit after 30 minutes, the half-time score of 17-10 looked a whole lot more manageable.

Had Grant Runciman scored at the start of the second half Melrose might have pulled off the great escape. Instead the next try went to Ayr’s winger Craig Gossman, who finished off the best move of the match after a superb break by scrum-half Peter Jericevich was carried on by Ross Curle, who still boasts better footwork than any professional player in Scotland.

After five tries in the opening 50 minutes, the last half hour of this match was played in a persistent drizzle that dampened the players and their ambition in equal measure.

Inside the final quarter Melrose went in search of a second penalty try with a long series of scrums 15 metres from the Ayr line. The home team held out the first time but Melrose were awarded another scrum just five metres out and, once again, the referee allowed three resets before heading for the posts. With ten minutes left to play, Ayr’s lead was down to just one converted try and they knew they could not afford to play the game inside their own 22. They didn’t. Instead skipper Callum Forrester dived over for Ayr’s fifth try of the match. John Dalziel answered in kind at the opposite end but Ayr enjoyed the last laugh.

For the first time in the match, the home team opted to kick a penalty at posts and Russell duly took the consolation bonus point from Melrose with what proved to be the very last kick of the game.

Ayr: Anderson, Ferguson, Curle, Kelbrick, Gossman; Russell, Jercevich; Matamangira, Wisnewski, Cox, Campbell, White, Fisken, Dunlop, Forrester. Subs: Rae, Fenwick, Doneghan, McConnell, Taylor.

Melrose: Chalmers, Letham, Skeen, helps, Mallin; Mill, Colvine; Little, Ferguson, Holborn, Miller, Eccles, Dalziel, Runciman, Nagle. Subs: Walker, Keen, Ovens, McCormick, Taylor.

Referee: Johann Van der Merwe.