It Is Always Hard To Lose A Semi-Final

I DO, I admit, have a soft spot for Ayr - a failing which gets me into repeated bother at my own wee Ayrshire club, where hating the pink and black hordes is a given. So, I had some sympathy for them when their League and Cup Double hopes were dashed by Melrose yesterday.

Not that sorry. Yes, the better team won, but, Ayr contributed greatly to their defeat, not least by their indiscipline. No, my real sympathy yesterday went to Glasgow Hawks, who lost out to Heriot's in the other BT Scottish Cup semi-final. Not only that, they lost in the cruelest of circumstances.

After the regulation 80 minutes, plus extra time, the competition rules had to be consulted, before it was revealed - Heriot's had "won", by virtue of being the away team.

It is never easy to lose a semi-final: so near, yet so far. However, to lose that semi-final on the spurious basis of being the home team - no, that's just too cruel. Time to refine the rules methinks.

There were other semi-finals played on Saturday, and, if things were going badly for Ayr on the main pitch at Millbrae - they were going swimmingly for Millbrae, th Alloway club's "social XV", who reached the final of the BT Bowl, by beating Grangemouth Stags on the second pitch at Millbrae. They will face Aberdeen University in the final.

After the match, that wonderful supporter of Ayr rugby, Andrew Pickles, was even moved to purchase beer for the troops. "Pixie", that rarity, a really nice Fettesian, was even threatening to list himself among the replacements at Murrayfield, simply
to come on in the closing minutes and possibly kick a penalty for Millbrae.

"Pixie", you're n your seventh decade - time to stop dreaming old mate.

But, the really big win of the day was surely that of another South Ayrshire side - Carrick - who ended St Boswell's three-year unbeaten run in the Shield semi-final at Maybole.

In the Shield final, the "Rick" will face Highland, who just edged-out North Berwick, at North Berwick.

Watsonian's Head Coach Marcus di Rollo

Away from the cup excitement, Watsonians clinched their return to the top flight by beating Howe of Fife. However, elsewhere in National League 1, Marr lost at Dundee, so must wait a while before clinching the promotion/relegation play-off spot.

With Hamilton having already sown-up National League 2, there was another big win in National 3, where GHK confirmed what has been certain for weeks - they were going up. A shaft of sunlight to brighten the Saturday gloom at Old Anniesland. 

  

Watsonian's are coached by Marcus di Rollo, with some input from another former Scotland cap in Simon Taylor, just two of the former internationalists now making their way up the coaching ladder 

I UNDERSTAND, John Lacey's totally unacceptable demonstration of refereeing - or rather, how not to referee, at Scotstoun on Friday night, did not go unnoticed at BT Murrayfield.

This was the straw which broke the camel's back, in terms of how Pro12 Rugby seems to think only Irish referees count. The SRU are apparently about to make it clear to the guys in Dublin: enough is enough - we are fed-up being screwed by incompetent/cheating Irish referees - it has to be sorted-out now.

Let's hope it works out for Scotland, the SRU should have hit out years ago.

When Graeme Wells arrived to referee the Ayr v Melrose game, he was informed by more than one Millbrae and Scotstoun regular: "It doesn't matter how poorly you officiate this afternoon Graeme - you cannot possibly be the worst referee we've seen this week.

As it happened, aside from his somewhat precipitate and controversial award of a Penalty Try to Melrose, Mr Wells did nothing amiss over the 80 minutes.