Friday 1 December 2017

Glasgow Hawks v Ayr preview

Ayr play Glasgow Hawks on the artificial pitch at Lochinch in Pollok Park on Saturday in round eleven of the BT Premiership, kicking off at 2pm.

It's the first league fixture in nearly a month, but both teams have been in BT Cup action, Hawks losing out to Watsonians and Ayr sneaking a win against Currie Chieftains.

"The players showed a lot of character to come back and get the win against Currie," says Ayr head coach Calum Forrester. "It is set to be an entertaining west coast derby on the fast 3G surface at Lochinch this weekend."

With Hawks' 1st XV pitch at Old Anniesland in the west end of Glasgow currently out of action, the match will be played at the Police Scotland recreation ground in the south side of the city (G41 4SN, for those driving). Ayr fans are welcome at Old Anniesland after the match; and before the fixture, Cartha QP have issued an open invitation to visit their clubhouse - just at the entrance to Pollok Park - for drinks and soup.

In the squad, centre Stafford McDowall and hooker Robbie Smith return after recovering from illness and injury. Glasgow Warriors' Brandon Thomson starts at fly-half, with Scott Lyle moving to the wing. Lewis Young retains his place at scrum-half after a strong debut against Currie.

Ayr 1st XV
15. Grant Anderson, 14. Scott Lyle, 13. Danny McCluskey, 12. Stafford McDowall, 11. Craig Gossman; 10. Brandon Thomson, 9. Lewis Young; 1. Robin Hislop, 2. Robbie Smith, 3. Steven Longwell; 4. Blair Macpherson, 5. Robert McAlpine; 6. Tommy Spinks, 7. George Stokes, 8. Pete McCallum (c).

Replacements
16. Lewis Anderson, 17. Ruairidh Sayce, 18. Jonathan Agnew, 19. Jamie Bova, 20. Sam Graham.

Kick-off 2pm. Follow the scores live on Twitter.


Ayr 2nd XV are welcomed to Old Anniesland, where they will take on their Glasgow Hawks counterparts in BT National Reserve 1, kicking off at 2pm.

There are some exciting additions to the Ayr team, with Harry Warr and Paddy Dewhirst pulling the strings at half-back, and Scotland U18s' prop Euan McLaren donning the pink and black shirt for the first time.

Zander Howie and Ross Gilmour are welcomed back to the squad after recovering from a long-term knee injury and returning from a spell abroad respectively.

Ayr 2nd XV
15. Ross Gilmour, 14. Rory McMurray, 13. James Pinkerton, 12. Gregor Henry, 11. Euan Hamilton; 10. Paddy Dewhirst, 9. Harry Warr; 1. Ben Paterson, 2. Stuart Collier, 3. Euan McLaren; 4. Logan Richardson, 5. Michael Badenhorst; 6. Craig Brown, 7. Seth Rae, 8. Cameron Reece.

Replacements
16. David Young, 17. Fraser Miller, 18. Adam Paxton, 19. Alan Miller, 20. Zander Howie.

Kick-off 2pm. Follow the scores live via the Ultimate Rugby app.

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