BT Premiership Preview: Ayr look to hold back Heriot’s

BT Premiership Preview: Ayr look to hold back Heriot’s

This Saturday at Millbrae, Heriot’s travel from the capital to take on Ayr in what the Edinburgh-based side hope will be a repeat of last season’s BT Premiership final as they seek their fifth consecutive win (kick-off 3pm).The last time these two teams clashed on west coast soil was in April when Heriot’s clinched a 26-29 victory over Ayr with a penalty try to win the competition.  Despite Heriot’s inconsistent start to the season, they have bounced back and made their mark on the competition, defeating Gala (38-19), Melrose (17-21), Stirling County (29-15) and Watsonians (58-15) in the last four weeks respectively.This has enabled last season’s champions to storm up the league table and they now sit in fourth place with 30 points behind Melrose and Ayr (both on 40 points) and Glasgow Hawks on 37.Ayr on the other hand started off the season unbeaten in the first five rounds, but were thwarted by Boroughmuir 24-11 in round six, returning to winning ways for the next two fixtures, before narrowly losing out 28-27 to Watsonians.Following their 32-41 away win to Currie last weekend however, Ayr will be keen to continue their form against Heriot’s to ensure they stay up with Melrose, as the two are only separated on point difference.Ayr Head Coach, Calum Forrester, has selected a settled team for this trying match with only one change to the starting line-up, with Blair Macpherson coming in to start at blindside.Forrester said: “Heriot’s have hit their form over the last month, coming into this match off the back of four consecutive wins.We were pleased with the reaction from our players last week and know that we will need to raise our performance again in order to get a result this weekend.”Phil Smith, Heriot’s Head Coach, has made necessary changes to his team, with Gavin Parker starting on the wing as Glenn Bryce is released from Edinburgh and starts at 15.Smith commented on the match: “We return to the scene of our league victory in good heart after a couple of strong performances.Ayr have also returned to form with a bang. I am sure both teams will look to go into the Autumn with a positive outcome and with the forecast for a dry day it may be another cracker.”Another tough game is anticipated in the Borders as table toppers Melrose welcome Glasgow Hawks to The Greenyards, with Melrose Head Coach, Rob Chrystie, expecting that, after a better performance last weekend winning 12-45 away to Boroughmuir, his men will continue to raise their game to get the desired result against Hawks.Hawks Head Coach, Finlay Gilles, notes that since their last match where Melrose ran out comfortable winners 17-37, his side learned a lot from that game and he hopes they have developed enough as a squad to showcase their credentials and challenge the best club teams in Scotland.Head Coach David Adamson knows Stirling have to work hard in defence against Boroughmuir because although they sealed a bonus point victory last Saturday, they allowed Hawick to score 30 points, which they cannot afford to do against Peter Wright’s men.Boroughmuir Head Coach, Peter Wright, welcomes Aubrey Mncube back from injury at blindside flank and, after a disappointing result against Melrose despite a decent first half, Wright knows the ‘Muir must up their standard of play to get close to a result against Stirling.Back in the capital, Watsonians face Hawick and aim to put things right after what Head Coach, Marcus Di Rollo, called a disappointing performance against Heriot’s in last week’s Edinburgh derby.Head Coach Nikki Walker knows that this match against Watsonians is some feat, but believes Hawick are working hard and if they concentrate on achieving an 80-minute performance, that so far has just been out of reach, they can begin to climb the table.Currie make the trip to the Borders to face Gala with the Edinburgh side looking dangerous in recent weeks while the Maroons are searching for consistent performances.Currie Head Coach, Ben Cairns, believes last week’s performance against Ayr will give his team confidence as they look to produce a similar 80 minutes this weekend.Gala Head Coach, Chris Dalgleish, is aware that his squad need to improve from their round ten outing against Hawks and will settle back into home territory, having played away for a number of weeks.Stirling County v Boroughmuir will be live-tweeted from @Scotlandteam with match build-up from 2pm.Clubs from across BT National Leagues 1, 2 and 3 will also continue their season on Saturday. For a full list of fixtures, visit scottishrugby.org.  BT Premiership Round Eleven (Saturday 5 November)Ayr v Heriot’s, Millbrae, 3pmAyr: Grant Anderson; Richard Dalgleish, Archie Russell, Ross Curle, Craig Gossman; Frazier Climo, David Armstrong; George Hunter, David Young, Steven Longwell, Rob McAlpine, Scott Sutherland, Blair MacPherson, Will Bordill, Pete McCallum CAPTAIN. Replacements: Lewis Anderson, Adam Prentice, Craig Stevenson, Cameron Taylor, Stafford MacDowall.Heriot’s: Glenn Bryce; John Rae, Josh Laird, John Semple CAPTAIN, Gavin Parker; Alex Hagart, Andrew Simmers; Gavin Cameron, Michael Liness, Ruaridh Mitchell, Callum Marshall, Russell Nimmo, Michael Maltman, Jack McLean, Struan Dewar. Replacements: George Turner, Struan Cessford, Clarke Smith, Tom Wilson, Ewan Fox.Melrose v Glasgow Hawks, The Greenyards, 2pmMelrose: Fraser Thomson; Ross McCann, George Taylor, Craig Jackson, Austin Lockington; Jason Baggott, Murdo McAndrew; Dan Elkington, Russell Anderson, Ruairi McLeod, James Head, Lewis Carmichael, Neil Irvine Hess, Grant Runciman CAPTAIN, Ian Moody. Replacements: Richard Ferguson, Nick Beavon, Ruaridh Knott, Nyal Godsmark, Richard Taylor.Hawks: Jack Steele; Junior Bulumakau, Brendan McGroarty, David Milne, Kerr Gossman; Josh Henderson, George Horne; Steven Findlay, Paul Cairncross, Gary Strain, Andy Redmayne, Andrew Kirkland, Andy Hill, Grant Stewart, Tommy Spinks CAPTAIN. Replacements: Andy Linton, Brendan Cullinane, Sam Thompson, Paddy Boyer, Leigh Tyley.Stirling County v Boroughmuir, Bridgehaugh, 3pmStirling County: Jonny Hope; TBC, Craig Pringle, Alex Black, Logan Trotter; Ross Jones, Matt Donaldson; Colin Hutton, Matt Emmison, Fergus Bradbury, Hamilton Burr, Callum Hunter-Hill CAPTAIN, Ruairidh Leishman, Shaun MacDonald, Alex Taylor. Replacements: Dave Montgomery, Mark Hunter, Harry Henderson, Struan Robertson, Owen Jarvie.Boroughmuir: Greg Cannie; Jordan Edmunds, Ronan Kerr, Mark Hare, Grant McConnell; Chris Laidlaw, Dougie Steele; Dale Robertson, Tristan King, Dan Winning, Callum Atkinson, Jamie Ure, Aubrey Mncube, Andy Rose, Craig Keddie. Replacements: Stuart Clark, Tom Gracie, Matt Tweddle, Blair Mills, Alex Cox.Watsonians v Hawick, Myreside, 3pmWatsonians: Keith Young; Max McFarland, Scott McLeod, DJ Innes, Rory Steele; Andrew Chalmers, Euan McKirdy; Nathan Borel, Darren Miller, Kyle White, Jonny Duthie, Craig Borthwick, Sean Crombie, Angus Duckett, Euan Dods CAPTAIN. Replacements: Martin Christie, Fraser Morrison, Reiss Cullen, Ali Harris, Tom Hart.Hawick: Ali Weir; Dacry Graham, John Coutts, Gary Johnstone, Wesley Hamilton; Lee Armstrong, Greg Cottrel; Shaun Muir, Fraser Renwick, Callum Mackintosh, David Lowrie, Bruce McNeil CAPTAIN, Ross Gibson, Stuart Graham, Andrew Horne. Replacements: Matt Landels, Garry Douglas, Dylan Harlen, Grant Huggan, Neil Renwick.Gala v Currie, Netherdale, 3pmGala: Graham Spiers CAPTAIN; Ross Combe, Sasa Tofilau, Paul Hendry, Craig Robertson; Gregor Hunter, Connor Adams; Chris Keen, Matt Carryer, Dean Brooker, Rob Louw, Chris Weir, Alan Emond, Gary Adams, Stevie Cairns. Replacements: Curtis Reynolds, Gary Robertson, Cammy Pate, George Lott, Lewis Berg.Currie: Harvey Elms; Ben Robbins, Robbie Nelson, Cameron Hutchison, Cameron Gray; Jamie Forbes, Charlie Shiel, John Cox, Fergus Scott, Graeme Carson, Hamish Bain, Stephen Ainslie, Luke Crosbie, Thomas Gordon, Ross Weston CAPTAIN. Replacements: AP McWilliam, Reece Patterson, Rhys Davies, Scott McGinley, Richard Snedden. 

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