| Full name | Ayr Rugby Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Union | Scottish Rugby Union | ||
| Founded | 1897 | ||
| Location | Ayr, Scotland | ||
| Ground(s) | Millbrae | ||
| Coach(es) | Kenny Murray | ||
| League(s) | Premiership Division One | ||
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| Official website | |||
| www.ayrrugbyclub.co.uk | |||
Ayr Rugby Football Club (abbreviated as Ayr RFC) are a rugby union side, currently playing in the Premiership Division One.
The team are based in Ayr in Scotland, and they play at Millbrae, Alloway.
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Millbrae is a rugby ground used by Ayr for both training and practice. It has two full size rugby fields, one overlooked by a grandstand, and a clubhouse, which is used mainly for changing rooms and the bar, but also contain squash courts and several storage rooms. Millbrae is adjacent to the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum and can be accessed either by a dirt road from Alloway or via a small gate beside the museum.
Millbrae became Ayr's home in 1964, the club having moved from the original ground at Newton Park to Dam Park, then to the Old Racecourse and King George V playing field before finally taking up residence in Alloway. Newton Park is now the venue of international bowls competitions, Dam Park is an athletics stadium and King George V is given over to soccer, although its claim to fame came from the time of a full Scottish trial was staged there in 1958, every other ground in Scotland being frostbound.
Throughout the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s Ayr produced players of international standard. One who played and went on to be capped out of London Scottish was Alistair Boyle. Although supplying players to the Glasgow side (and Glasgow clubs) Ayr had to wait until 1977 for the first home-grown player to gain international honours. Winger David Ashton won his B cap against France and in the following year John Brown was in the B side at full back in the same fixture.
In 1980 Stephen Munro won the first of his ten full caps, against Ireland, the last coming in the Welsh match of the 1984 Grand Slam season. Probably Ayr's finest hour in representative terms came in December 1984 when 5 players – skipper Alan Brown, half backs George Nicolson and Grant Steel, and wing forwards David Brown and Colin McCallum – lined up for Glasgow against the touring Australians. The 3 Brown brothers certainly made impact on rugby in Ayr.
Other Ayr players who gained international caps at other clubs were Gordon Strachan, Quintin Dunlop, Derek Stark, Derrick Lee.
Strachan returned to Ayr in the late 1970s, when he captained the club. He went on to coach the team, leading them from the 3rd to 1st division.
Quintin Dunlop captained Ayr in the late seventies after his one cap with West of Scotland.
Derek Stark, Ayr's winger, gained B caps at Ayr, but the 9 full caps came after he left the club as Ayr had been relegated to the 2nd Division. Stark later won caps with Boroughmuir RFC, Glasgow Hawks and Melrose RFC.
Derrick Lee played for Ayr from the ages of 8 to 18, gaining Scotland representation at all junior age groups. Unfortunately, university in Edinburgh meant he chose a local club (Watsonians) and he gained his 12 caps during the last ten years playing for London Scottish and Edinburgh.
Ross Curle is another ayr player who represented scotland at age grade levels. He is a speedy back who can play at 10,13 or 15. Nicknamed "Bellend Raveman".
Scott Sutherland won his first Scotland Club International cap after a powerful season in the "boiler room" for Ayr's first xv.
On 7 March 2009, the 1st XV made history as the first Ayr team to win the Premier Division, after a 20-10 win against Edinburgh Accies with 3 games still left in the season.[1]
On 24 April 2010, Ayr ran overpowered Melrose 36-23 to win the Scottish Cup final at Murrayfield.[2] Following a late burst of scoring meant they finished the game with five tries – enough for the bonus point they wanted in a match that also counted towards the Scottish Premiership race,[3] however the next match was the decider at Currie RFC,[4] in front of 2,500 people, where Ayr were beaten narrowly missing out on an unprecedented double.[5]
Ayr retained their cup title on 16 April 2011 by again beating Melrose, this time by 25-21.[6]
Ayr has taken part in every British and Irish Cup competition since its introduction in the 2009-2010 season.
In the first year of the competition Ayr finished 4th in group D having lost to Doncaster (A), Cardiff (A), Pontypridd (H) and beating Rotherham (H) and Birmingham and Solihull (H).
In the second year of the competition (2010–2011) Ayr were pooled with the same teams in group D again (apart from the replacement of Cardiff by Llandovery) with the location of the fixtures being reversed. Ayr finished second in the group, losing to Pontypridd (A), drawing with Rotherham (A) and beating Birmingham and Solihull (A), Llandovery (H) and Doncaster (H).
As a result of finishing second Ayr earned a quarter-final place, the first and only Scottish team to do so. Ayr were drawn away to Bristol where they lost 29-19.[7]
In the 2011-2012 season Ayr will play Munster and Plymouth away with Cross Keys and Bristol visiting Millbrae.
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