Ayr named Club of the Season at Scottish Rugby Club Awards

A successful season of domestic club rugby was celebrated at BT Murrayfield on Friday evening as the annual Scottish Rugby Club Awards showcased outstanding contributions to the club game across Scotland.Ayr was awarded the prestigious BT Club of the Season award for their work towards producing a sustainable youth section to future-proof their local rugby community, and on-going efforts to nurture and develop their women and girls’ section.The club’s 1st XV were crowned champions of Scotland’s premier club competition, the BT Premiership, and were also runners-up in this year’s BT Cup Finals Day at the national stadium.BT Women’s Club of the Season went to Stirling County, who have built a strong foundation for the future through their girls’ section, with their U15 and U18 teams recording successful seasons. The club’s 1st XV competed in the BT Women’s Premier League and were runners-up in this season’s BT Women’s Plate Final on BT Cup Finals Day.Calum Forrester of Ayr was awarded Coach of the Year for his development and desire to broaden his coaching knowledge through his UKCC Level 4 coaching qualification and hard work developing the club’s 2nd XV and U18 squad to progress its most promising players.He led the club’s 1st XV to league victory on the domestic stage, where his side won 17 from 20 games in regular and play-off fixtures, and also guided them to the final of the BT Cup, with Ayr scoring a total of 113 tries throughout the season.The BT Premiership Player of the Season went to Melrose’s George Taylor off the back of a successful season for the centre. The Scotland Club XV international was a crucial part of Melrose’s table-topping performances in the BT Premiership and the club’s BT Cup final victory.Scotland Women international, Hannah Smith, took home the award for BT Women’s Premier League Player of the Season following her performances during the year, not least her outstanding contribution to Hillhead Jordanhill’s victory in the the Sarah Beaney Cup.There were a further eight “Player of the Season” awards which recognised the performances of men and women from across the BT Leagues in their club colours.The Spirit of Rugby award was picked up by Gordon Burnett from Dundee HSFP, a former player, coach, committee member and president. In his eightieth year, he now enjoys filming home and away matches and contributing to the team’s development week in, week out.Youth Coach of the Season was collected by Matt McGrandles from Stirling County for his continued development of youth rugby at the club, coaching two U18 teams to the top end of their respective Conferences and steering the U18 A squad to National Youth League Cup victory.Elaine Martin from East Kilbride was awarded BT Volunteer of the Season for her hard work across several roles at the club, including coach, social convener, membership secretary and fixture organiser.She also started a girls’ section at East Kilbride, working with the committee to transform a disused room in the clubhouse into a female changing room, with the club now boasting 30 members and committed to growing the women’s and girls’ game. Referee of the Season went to David Sutherland for his ability to perform both at the top tier of domestic level rugby and age grade internationals, while also supporting the BT Sport Scottish Rugby Academy in the West and assisting elite referees at EPCR matches.Scott Bickerstaff from Marr collected the Brigadier Frank Coutts Memorial (BT) Try of the Season following his score against Edinburgh Accies in BT National League Division 1 back in December.Scottish Rugby President, Rob Flockhart, said: “The Club Awards is a fantastic celebration of Scottish club rugby and recognises the phenomenal work which goes on across the country to ensure all aspects of the game are in good health.Players, coaches, volunteers and committee members make an amazing contribution to our club game and have all been recognised through these awards.” Scottish Rugby Head of Club Services, Nick Rennie, said: “It has been an exciting year of club rugby across Scotland with winners awarded for their contribution to the game both on and off the pitch.The standard of rugby across all levels of the club game has, once again, been really high and we wish all of our winners the very best for the coming season.” 2016/17 Scottish Rugby Club Awards winnersBT Club of the Season – AyrBT Women’s Club of the Season – Stirling CountyCoach of the Season – Calum Forrester (Ayr)Youth Coach of the Season – Matt McGrandles (Stirling County)Referee of the Season – David SutherlandSpirit of Rugby – Gordon Burnett (Dundee HSFP)BT Volunteer of the Season – Elaine Martin (East Kilbride)Brigadier Frank Coutts Memorial (BT) Try of the Season – Scott Bickerstaff (Marr)BT Premiership Player of the Season – George Taylor (Melrose)BT National League Division 1 Player of the Season – Tom Drennan (Edinburgh Accies)BT National League Division 2 Player of the Season – Michael Borthwick (GHK)BT National League Division 3 Player of the Season – Jack Steele (Dumfries Saints)BT Caledonia Regional Player of the Season – Sam Evans (Gordonian)BT East Regional Player of the Season – Fraser Strachan (Murrayfield Wanderers)BT West Regional Player of the Season – Michael Kirk (Carrick)BT Women’s Premier League Player of the Season – Hannah Smith (Hillhead Jordanhill)BT Women’s National League Division 1 Player of the Season – Helen Blevins (Watsonians)BT Women’s National League Division 2 Player of the Season – Katie Williams (Howe Harlequins)