Day 2 - Laggan Outdoor Centre & Game 1 Ayr Rugby Club

All boys arrived at the Ayr Rugby Club rested and well at home with their billets this morning; Hiro and Matt particularly so, after a night in a castle! The boys went to Laggan Outdoor Centre through amazing countryside, electro-static roads and warm milky sunshine, and were able to take part in archery, clay-pigeon shooting, sledging (not the verbal kind) and reverse four-wheel driving. Lachlan Cook proved a very careful driver and Jazz and Lachlan Power accomplished archers. Jake Power’s relationship with his Pokemon has yielded results; his coordination with gun and bow was unsurpassed and he proved his ability to live off the land if necessary. Wayne was unfortunately rushed to hospital with severe internal injuries after he was brutally run over after being flung from his sledge travelling at over 2mph; thankfully the car crash forced social services to re-evaluate his carers and has since moved to Dalton Cole.

Despite one or two travel sick tummies, the boys tore into the evening game with much enthusiasm. Faced with temperatures of just 4 degrees, All Saints fared well against a considerably larger pack and finished the first third one try ahead after Nicholas Gentle & Jake Power punished a tardy backline defence with some breath-taking attacking breaks through the middle.

In the second 25 minute period, Ayr started strongly and began to exert in a number of key areas. The scrum began to take a battering, missed tackles and energy sapping mauls took its toll and saw Ayr dominate proceedings. Our own inability to win first phase ball and numerous simple ball handling errors saw Ayr capitalise on easy field position. ‘Ball killing’ tactics in the ruck were greeted with some fiery northern hemisphere ruck action to the bodies of numerous ASAS players; this made for some interesting dialogue during the game! Despite the onslaught, All Saints worked hard to keep the score to a respectable 17-10 after 50 minutes.

A rousing end of half speech from Golder saw a complete role reversal; a re-invigorated pack met the muscle from Ayr with vengeance and worked hard to secure first phase set-piece in the scrum and lineout. Men running hard in numbers to the ball gave James White plenty of options at half back and for the first time in the game, the Ayr pack struggled with the sheer pace of the Saints ball runners and toiled backwards for long periods. In particular, Daniel Reptis enjoyed a fine third exploiting the tired Ayr defence finishing with three well worked tries whilst Kane Fitzgerald showed his worth in typical fashion with some bone crunching defence and even a side step to avoid a collision! A final score line of 33 – 22 does not reflect the intensity of the game but considering the travel, time zone difference and cooler playing conditions, Saints can be delighted with their first win on tour! It is very important to secure a first win on tour and despite not playing anywhere near their best, a win is still a win!

A 2 course meal and presentation from coaches and captains followed the game. All members of the touring party were blown away by the hospitality displayed by not only the billets but the Ayr Rugby Club. Man of the match awards were presented to Daniel Reptis and Jake Power and accompanying that, Ayr bestowed gifts of their club training shirts, in a gesture that truly exceeds the typical boundaries of good will. It never ceases to amaze me how such generosity can be shown by what can only be described as strangers through only a common passion for rugby. We have been truly overawed by the welcome we have received at Ayr and have enjoyed every minute of out stay thus far.

Today, we will nurse any minor injuries and then travel back to Glasgow where we will watch Ayr as they take on Glasgow Hawks in a local derby. We will also have lunch in the CBD explore a few more of the local attractions. Until tomorrow, enjoy the video and log in again soon.

Video and photos of yesterdays game will be uploaded soon.