“It does make it difficult for our backs to stay focused because our forwards were doing such a good job. We’re just looking to find that rhythm and get that 80-minute performance. We didn’t get it in this game, but we’ll continue to work on that and push on.
“The Scottish Cup means a lot to us – obviously not to the Borders clubs, but it means a lot to us. The Borders clubs maybe don’t want to be in it because they probably didn’t have a chance to win it, but we’re happy to move forward in the competition.”
Strangely, there is also plenty for Hawks to take confidence from as they now get to concentrate on the league, with coach Phil Smith clearly frustrated that, though his players had produced all the fancy running rugby, they allowed Ayr two line-out mauls and two scrums that led to tries.
“They are a juggernaut of set-piece dominance,” he said. “Then, at the start, we gave the ball away so it was penalty to penalty to penalty to score. It’s a killer. Then we did it again for the second try. That’s the exact opposite of what we’re trying to do.
“The key was that if we could just keep the ball on the park as much as we could, we could threaten. I told them not to kick the ball out but to try to open the game up and keep us moving. When we did that, we were really good.
“We needed to apply pressure and see how they’d react because, you know, they’re not under pressure that often. We know we have that in us. I’m excited about what we can achieve because there are opportunities for is to go out and express themselves as a really good rugby squad.”
With radically different starts to the season, it was always likely to be an uphill task for Hawks, one of a cluster of mid-table teams with three league wins against the 100 percent Premiership leaders – and that’s certainly how it panned out in the early exchanges.
Two penalties set Ayr up in the opposition 22, where they set up a line-out maul. It may not have been the tidiest they have ever put together, but it did the job, with flanker Lewis McNamara at the back to ground the ball.
Hawks might have hit back immediately, but a well-worked move to put wing Jamie Couper on a race to the corner brought out an equally high-quality tackle from Harry Lynch, his opposite number.
The problem for the city club was that they could not get hold of the ball, as they were consistently outmuscled up front, with the Ayr scrum driving them back and the home side bossing the breakdown.
It took a while for it all to pay off, but eventually a series of scrums under the visitors’ posts ended with Ayr driving to the line and Ed Bloodworth, the lock, getting the second try.
Not for the first time this season, Ayr’s pack power was key to their success against Glasgow Hawks. Image: George McMillan
The thing was that when Hawks did get the ball, they looked full of running and threat; the trouble was getting it in the first place – a point they illustrated with a long exercise in handling the ball into opposition territory.
Seb Hastings made the first inroads, with scrum-half Callum Reidy hitting the line at pace to cut through and score, and Gavin Cruickshanks converting to bring his side back into the game.
When Hawks had the ball, they continued to look dangerous, but they had no answer to the Ayr power game, and a second line-out maul saw the home side rumbling over the line again, with hooker Rhodri Tanner getting the try and full-back Scott Watson claiming his third conversion to send his side into the break with a 14-point lead.
Maybe it felt too comfortable for the home side, because they started the second half with a flurry of uncharacteristic mistakes that handed the initiative to Hawks. Now it was the home side struggling for possession as the visitors spread the ball from wing to wing, only to find that the power in the Ayr defence was just as impressive as in attack.
None of which ruled out the sucker punch, and after an astute kick up the touchline by Fergus Johnston, Ayr’s replacement scrum-half, they shifted the ball from the line-out and the same player found space to cross for the fourth try, with Jamie Bova, another replacement, converting.
It didn’t really change the pattern of the second half, with Hawks playing most of the rugby while Ayr defended doggedly, their scrum a particularly potent weapon that got them out of trouble on a few occasions.
A yellow-card for Ayr’s Lynch for a deliberate knock-on gave Hawks another chance at the home line, and with the Ayr players seeming to think they had another scrum coming, Hawks collected the loose ball for lock Max Crumlish to dot down.
Typically, Ayr regathered themselves and finished the game with the pack driving upfield after a clever chip through from fly-half Bobby Beattie and then driving the scrum over the line to finish on a high note.
Teams –
Ayr: S Watson; A McGowan, J Snedden, R Orr, H Lynch; R Beattie, C McGarey; J Drummond, R Tanner, M Scott, E Bloodworth, R Jackson, R Sweeney, L McNamara, B Macpherson©. Subs used: J Paton, C Henderson, R Sayce, S Rae, J Bova, F Johnston, T Brown.
Glasgow Hawks: E Muirhead; L Jarvie, C Waugh, P Kelly, J Couper; G Cruickshanks, C Reidy; P Cairncross©, T McTeir, B Sweet, M Crumlish, M Oliver, A Orr, Y Shaheen, S Hastings. Subs used: F Anderson, J Campbell, C Nolan, J Martin, A Syme, L Brims, J Hastings.
Referee: Ruaridh Campbell
Scorers –
Ayr: Tries: McNamara, Bloodworth, Tanner, Johnston, Sweeney; Cons: Watson 3, Bova 2.
Glasgow Hawks: Tries: Reidy, Crumlish; Cons: Cruickshanks.
Scoring sequence (Ayr first): 5-0; 7-0; 12-0; 14-0; 14-5; 14-7; 19-7 21-7 (h-t) 26=7; 28-7; 28-12; 35-12.
Yellow cards –
Ayr: Lynch (70 mins)
Player-of-the-Match: A really tough call since the game was really won by the whole Ayr pack, including the replacements. In the end, Ed Bloodworth shades Ryan Sweeney to the award but all the forwards had a claim to it.
Talking point: It must be hard for Ayr to keep their concentration levels up as their unbeaten run keeps going. They have so much power that they can afford to slip down a level or two and still come out on top.