The Ayrshire Bulls face their biggest test of the season so far tomorrow night when they host the Southern Knights in a top-of-the-table clash under the lights at Millbrae.
It was a shaky start to the season for Pat MacArthur’s Bulls – losing their opening three games out of four – but they’ve since gone from strength-to-strength, bulldozing all opposition to grab second place in the league.
They now trail tomorrow’s opponents by three points, with a win propelling them into first and securing a spot in the FOSROC Super6 final two weeks on Sunday.
With the magnitude of tomorrow’s encounter fresh on the minds of the Bulls players, captain Blair Macpherson is sending out a call to arms across Ayrshire.
He said: “They don’t come much bigger than this.
"We’ve hit form at the right part of the season and are itching to get out under the lights at Millbrae.
“To have this game on a Friday night on home soil is massive. We want to fill out the stand and create a buzz for the players to feed off.
"The club have been great at dealing with the organising of the event, with live music and family entertainment.
"Now it is down to us to put on a show – I’ve no doubt both sides will be intending to do just that."
In the new guise of the FOSROC Super6, tomorrow’s game sees the Bulls versus the Southern Knights, but don’t get any illusions that this is a new rivalry between two new franchises.
Prior to Super6, Ayr and Melrose (now the Knights) established themselves as the two most successful clubs in recent years and often silverware was decided when the pair came to blows.
Ayr currently hold both the Scottish Cup and Premiership trophy, won before the Super6’s inception in 2019.
Before their tenure, it was Melrose who held both.
To see them clashing at the business-end of the new competition in their current guises is a familiar sight for both sets of fans.
Macpherson, who was long a stalwart of Ayr before picking up skipper duties for the Bulls this season, knows all too well the importance of the fixture.
He added: “In the amateur set-up we knew Melrose was always a big date on the calendar.
"It’s no surprise to me to see us back up at the top of the ladder now too.
"Tomorrow night is a massive encounter, and I can’t wait.”
The two sides are leading the pack at the minute and are bookies favourites to make the league final on Sunday, October 17.
After tomorrow’s encounter both have one more game to play in the regular season, before the top two seeds qualify for the final at Edinburgh Rugby’s newly erected DAM Health Stadium.
Speaking of his silverware aspirations, Macpherson said: “When you play for Ayr your goal each year is to win it all.
"That mentality hasn’t changed with the Bulls. We are a club that’s been built on success and have expectations from our fanbase.
"Now, we represent a wider area than Ayr and are flying the flag for the west coast.
“But tomorrow night comes first. All my attention is on our performance against the Southern Knights, and if we are able to make the final, then we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.
"Hopefully we see a nice blend of familiar faces and new fans at Millbrae."
Tomorrow’s match kicks-off at 7.30pm and you can purchase you tickets on the gate, or secure in advance at www.ayrrugbyclub.co.uk
Alongside the match, they’ll be plenty peripheral activity with a ‘kids zone’ playing movies and also live music carrying on into the night.
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