Rugby ... Ardrossan Accies overcome Killie

Snow and sleet squalls, bitter biting winds, freezing temperatures and ice crystals forming on the wet 3g pitch at Garnock Campus for the match , stormy weather for a stormy encounter with Kilmarnock RFC! The Accies boys, still positive from their excellent win v Bishopton on the very same pitch the previous Friday, knew what to expect from the venue, and despite a short delay waiting for the referee, and the agreement that the saturated post protectors were in fact useless, the game played in the end to the shorter football pitch lines for player safety.

Kickoff saw both teams hit each other hard, and for the first few encounters, the Ardrossan forwards looked to have the upper hand, until an early penalty for taking a player too far beyond the ruck gave Killie the advantage again. Another early Accies attack was penalised for playing ball on the floor, caused by poor ball presentation. Again Killie cleared their lines, then from lineout set off through their dangerous 10 to score first points.

Again Ardrossan carried hard from the kickoff gathered, and pushed Killie back, to be turned over with strong counter rucking, the hosts scoring their second. This seemed to galvanise the Ardrossan boys, and from good turnover and running from deep, a team effort saw the Killie defence in disarray, and allowed Robbie Graham to weave his way to the tryline for Ardrossan's try. Now it was Kilmarnock who upped their game, battering into Ardrossan through their bigger pack. This tactic saw them up to the 22, where hands through the backs got them over again. This tactic was repeated swiftly, seeing the hosts up a further score. After the change of ends, a couple of injuries saw a big rejig of Ardrossan positions, far from ideal, and a further score was conceded while Accies tried to adjust, with forwards in the backline and 2nd rows in the loose positions, credit to the boys, as after conceding again, a pact was made through the leadership of Fin Cairns, and the boys blasted Killie with everything they had. This new "chaos rugby" had Killie reeling, as penetrating runs from Fin, Harry, Craig and Patrick, with support from the entire backline....it was awesome! Watching Neil Monaghan clearing out over Patrick, just fantastic effort, boys! Phases took Accies close on at least two attempts in the last 10 minutes, and credit must go to the Killie defence, as Accies attacked like a completely different team - more direct, crisper hands, neat footwork, just falling agonisingly short a few times. Mention too to our front row stalwarts, James Craig Mac, Ollie, Ross and Ryan, they put in a huge shift, doing the hard work around the pitch as well as eventually getting the measure of the Killie pack. Our back three, Sam, Calum and Owen, for countless chases, and massive cover tackles in the wide. Our half backs, Neil, Derek and later Murray, controlling well, not easy against strong defence. Everyone stepped up, and should be very proud of their efforts on a freezing damp artificial pitch.