Selection doesn’t get any easier. Stafford McDowall is incredibly unlucky to miss out at inside centre after a man-of-the-match performance for Ayr against Heriot’s, but in the final reckoning it was decided that Robbie Nelson of Currie Chieftains was slightly more crucial to his team’s victory over Stirling County.
Five Ayr players did make the side, including tight-five triumvirate Steven Longwell, George Hunter and Michael Badenhorst, who all did so much to set the tone up-front. Behind the scrum, Frazier Climo pulled the strings at stand-off and Craig Gossman was a real handful on the wing, with both those players helping themselves to two tries apiece. It could easily have been an all Ayr three-quarter line because Robbie Nairn and Scott Lyle also showed up very well.
After much agonising, Stephen Ainslie of Chieftains finally got the nod at blindside flanker, just ahead of a raft of worthy candidates including Iain Moody of Melrose, Rory Drummond of Watsonians, Dan Marek of Boroughmuir, Tommy Spinks of Ayr and Lewis Wynne of Stirling County.
Hamilton Burr put in a big performance in the engine-room for Stirling County, but it wasn’t enough to secure a win for his team, so Archie Erskine is rewarded for his tireless effort on a successful afternoon for Boroughmuir.
Craig Keddie is at number eight, Ciaran Whyte is at full-back and the Meggetland men are perhaps unlucky not to be better represented after racking up 60 points – with scrum-half Johnny Adams perhaps the most unfortunate to miss out.
15. Ciaran Whyte (Boroughmuir)
14. Sam Pecqueur (Melrose)
13. Nyle Godsmark (Melrose)
12. Robbie Nelson (Currie Chieftains)
11. Craig Gossman (Ayr)
10. Frazier Climo (Ayr)
9. George Horne (Glasgow Hawks)
1. George Hunter (Ayr)
2. Grant Stewart (Glasgow Hawks)
3. Steven Longwell (Ayr)
4. Michael Badenhorst (Ayr)
5. Archie Erskine (Boroughmuir)
6. Stephen Ainslie (Currie Chieftains)
7. Ruairdh Knott (Melrose)
8. Craig Keddie (Boroughmuir)