Fullarton For Fulfilling Fixtures And Fine Food And Company

IT IS often suggested – you meet a nicer class of supporter at rugby matches than at football ones. To be fair, not every fan of football is your stereotypical Old Firm knuckle-dragger, while some on the touchlines at Cumnock's Broomfield ground act there with the same lack of respect for decency and good manners as they do at Auchinleck Talbot v Cumnock matches.

 Michael Johnston - smiling again now he's swapped football for rugby

On Saturday, at Fullarton Park, for Marr v Watsonians, however, I was in the company of a group of true ladies and gentlemen, for a very nice pre-match lunch. Michael Johnston, for instance, was charm personified, wearing his Marr tie, this son of Troon was as far removed form the ogre he was deemed to be while running – very well if truth be told – Kilmarnock Football Club. A weight has been removed from Michael's shoulders, and he is the better for this. Seated beside Mr J was Andrew Ker, the Watsonians president. It is always a pleasure to run across Andrew, who was so unlucky during his playing career to have been a contemporary of John Rutherford – his talent deserved more than his mere two caps. Andrew is of course, a member of that exclusive group of double internationalists, having also played cricket for Scotland.

The speeches, from Marr "worthies" Glen Davis and Tony Peters were as good as the company, the meal was excellent, and no, it was not just this which caused me to write a positive report on the game. The 13-13 draw was further proof, should it be required, that the BT Premiership provides a good quality of rugby. The wind was tricky, strangely enough, both sides played better into the breeze than with it; we had a potential Try of the Season from 'Sonians' Rory Hutton, while Marr's Colin Sturgeon marked his amazing 100^th straight first team game with two penalty goals and a stunning touchline conversion – into the breeze – of James Malcolm's rollicking try off a driven maul.

Marr's Colin Sturgeon - an amazing 100 games in a row and eight vital points on Saturday

That was another pleasing outcome on the day: to see the drafted professionals in the Marr XV, hooker Malcolm and lock Greg Peterson, so-clearly enjoying themselves. I have remarked before, the draft is also a bit of a lottery; I have seen professionals in the Premiership who clearly feel, playing at this level is beneath them -they are too-good for this sort of stuff, and content to go through the motions.

The good professionals show a professional attitude – they buy into their temporary club, they put themselves about and they try. Malcolm and Peterson did this for Ayr last season, this, three or four miles up the coast, they are again giving a lead, and, with D'arcy Rae as an enthusiastic water carrier, Marr got full value from their allotted professionals.

There wasn't the same opportunities for the two Watsonians' professionals – full-back Glenn Bryce and winger Jamie Farndale – to show what they could bring to the party, but, Farndale did score a smart narrow side try to put the visitors 10-0 ahead.

It was good too, to come across opponents from my mis-spent youth in Ayrshire club rugby. My rugby education was enhanced by a couple of slaps from Arthur Dunsmuir, now getting along nicely in spite of having to use two walking sticks. Marr's first president, Arthur has every right to be chuffed to bits by how far his club has come. There too, still giving me verbal abuse, was Jim McGuffie, the Marr prop who, in the memorable opening game at the ground, propped directly against Sean Lynch as Peter Brown's XV took on Gordon Brown's XV – which included a full British and Irish Lions pack, just back from the 1971 tour, and centre Robin McEwan, who will surely have split loyalties – aye right – in a fortnight's time when Marr entertain Ayr, his other side.

Speaking of Ayr, one of the Ayr United high heid yins was standing next to me on the banking at Fullarton, having body-swerved a trip to Hampden Park with the Honest Men, while Derek Stark was also in attendance. Clearly, with Ayr in the east, several Millbrae regulars opted for the short trip to Marr for their weekly rugby fix, and were not disappointed.

EVERYONE, and his uncle, has rushed to praise wee Nigel Owens' master-class in refereeing at Scotstoun on Friday night. Well, maybe not everyone.

D'arcy Rae - Believes Nigel Owens got it wrong on Friday night

Speaking to Warriors' tight-head D'arcy Rae at Marr on Saturday, the youngster was not exactly enamoured of Nigel's refereeing of the set scrum – which had seen him, D'arcy, pinged a couple of times for not getting it right. I honestly felt, both D'arcy and the equally-young Zander Fagerson, who he replaced, were on the wrong end of bad calls from the Welsh maestro, but, as D'arcy ruefully admitted: “Aye, my immediate opponent was Dave Kilcoyne, 20 caps for Ireland, I'm just D'arcy Who?”

It's a sair fecht son, you simply have to suck it up and learn from it. The only qualified referees I can think of who were fully-versed in the dark arts of front row play are Jimmy Bulloch, who for those youngsters reading this is Gordon and Alan's evil dad, for many years a stalwart of Hutcheson's Grammar School FP packs, and Brian Moore. And even they admit, they didn't get every call right.

Still on the subject of referees, I see Worcester Warriors' Head Coach Carl Hogg was having a wee moan about Wayne Barnes on Friday night. Carl, who is rugby royalty – a Scotland cap whose uncle is Jim Telfer, has clearly been taking media-awareness lessons from his better half, Jill Douglas, since he didn't really savage Wayne, indeed, he sort-of admitted, maybe Wayne got it right.

Nigel and Wayne - ignore the critics, they're the best

That's the great thing about rugby, even the best, and right now, Nigel Owens and Wayne Barnes are the best referees around, come in for criticism. But, that criticism is never vicious and always constructive.