This coming Saturday, DMPRFC welcome the players, coaching staff, officials and supporters of reigning BT Scottish Premiership side Ayr RFC, who travel the 360-odd miles round trip to the Arena from their Millbrae HQ.

The second of DMPRFC’s pre-season games welcomes an Ayr RFC side who have already played two pre-season friendlies, winning both 29 - 67 (away at Glascow Hutcheson’s Aloysians RFC) on 06.08.16. and 22 – 19 (away at Stirling County RFC) last weekend.

In the BT Scottish Premiership (2015/16) season, Ayr RFC played a total of 18 league games, winning 13 of them and therefore, whilst no disrespect intended to Hawick RFC, this will be a much sterner test of DMPRFC’s squad progress.

The Friday night performance of the 28-man DMPRFC squad was worth the journey North ‘over the border’ to Hawick RFC and has given coaches Danny BROWN and John NEWTON, together with player/coach Garry LAW an opportunity to run their keen eyes over their charges.

(A brief history of Ayr RFC and their past players who gained representative honours – by courtesy of Ayr RFC website)

‘A short distance from the birthplace of Scotland’s national bard and a stone’s throw from the Auld Brig O’ Doon, immortalised in Tam O’Shanter, is Millbrae, the picturesque home of Ayr RFC. Millbrae became Ayr’s home in 1964, the club having moved from the original ground at Newton Park to Dam Park, then to the Old Racecourse and King George V playing fields before finally taking up residence in Alloway. Newton Park is now the venue of international bowls competitions, Dam Park is an athletics stadium and King George V is given over to soccer, although its claim to fame came from the time of a full Scottish trial was staged there in 1958, every other ground in Scotland being frost-bound.
Many past players will remember the Old Racecourse, its pitches having been used by Ayr Academy on Saturday mornings before the club played in the afternoon. Many an enthusiastic youngster turned out on the same pitch twice on the same day.’

‘Throughout the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s Ayr produced players of quality.

One who played and went on to be capped out of London Scottish was Alistair Boyle.

Although supplying players to the Glasgow side (and Glasgow clubs) Ayr had to wait until 1977 for the first home-grown player to gain international honours. Winger David Ashton won his B cap against France and in the following year John Brown was in the B side at full back in the same fixture.

In 1980 Stephen Munro won the first of his ten full caps, against Ireland, the last coming in the Welsh match of the 1984 Grand Slam season.

Probably Ayr’s finest hour in representative terms came in December 1984 when five players – skipper Alan Brown, half-backs George Nicolson and Grant Steel, and wing forwards David Brown and Colin McCallum – lined up for Glasgow against the touring Australians. The Brown brothers certainly made impact on rugby in Ayr.

Other Ayr players who gained international caps at other clubs were Gordon Strachan, Quintin Dunlop, Derek Stark and Derrick Lee. In 2013, hooker Pat MacArthur made his debut against the Springboks during Scotland's tour of South Africa.

Prop Gordon Reid earned his first cap in 2014, as did centre Mark Bennett and stand-off Finn Russell, who have gone on to light up the Rugby World Cup in 2015.

Gordon Strachan (not the footballer/manager) left Ayr Academy and played for Ayr before going to Jordanhill College where he gained five caps while playing for the successful Jordanhill team. He returned to Ayr in the late seventies to play and captain the club. Gordon coached Ayr after he hung up his boots, leading them from the 3rd to the 1st Division and inspiring the club to some of its finest victories.

Quintin Dunlop captained Ayr in the late seventies after his one cap with West of Scotland.

Derek Stark, Ayr’s 'Rolls Royce' flying winger, gained B caps at Ayr, but the nine full caps came after he left the club as Ayr had been relegated to the 2nd Division. This man of many clubs won caps with Boroughmuir, Glasgow Hawks and Melrose.

Derrick Lee played for Ayr from the ages of 8 to 18, gaining Scotland representation at all junior age groups. Unfortunately, university in Edinburgh meant he chose a local club (Watsonians) and he gained his twelve caps during the last ten years playing for London Scottish and Edinburgh.’