AYR Rugby Club's hopes of completing their National Division One campaign with a 100 per cent record were dashed on Saturday after the Millbrae men lost at Watsonians.

However, with the league title, and promotion to the top flight, already signed and sealed, there may not be too many furrowed brows after the 36-12 reversal at Myreside.

A much-changed starting line-up had extended Ayr’s winning run to 15 matches against Highland seven days earlier – but Watsonians, with the scent of promotion still very much in their nostrils, had too much power in their ranks for the hosts, with Stuart Collier’s two first-half tries all Ayr had to show for their efforts as the home side crossed the line three times in the second half.

There was no such angst in the Garnock ranks on Saturday, with the Lochshore promotion juggernaut showing no sign of slowing down; the 45-0 win away to North Berwick was Garnock’s 12th on the spin in National Division 4, and boasted six different try scorers, with Shelton Ferreira, Ross Brocket, Richard O’Neill and Gareth McCrorie securing the try bonus inside the first 40 minutes before Matt Shiells and a Rory Walker brace put the icing on the cake after the interval.

Ardrossan Accies also extended their unblemished record at the top of West 1, securing a 13th victoriy in a row, and a 10th try bonus point of the season, with a 47-7 thumping of Ayrshire rivals Cumnock - a result which moves the Memorial Field men a step closer to promotion, and almost certainly the league title too.

Further down the West 1 table, ambitions at Kilmarnock are somewhat more prosaic - although with just six points separating the league's bottom four clubs, the battling 30-28 win at home to East Kilbride, achieved with the last play of the game and despite playing with 14 men for more than an hour, could go a long way to easing any lingering relegation fears at Bellsland.

Carrick remain in contention at the top of West 2 courtesy of a 26-17 win at home to Clydebank, with the Maybole men tied with second-placed Bishopton on 50 points, just six behind leaders Cambuslang.

And Irvine tightened their grip on top place in West 3 with a 10th straight win, defeating Hyndland 58-0 at Marress to maintain their six-point advantage over Birkmyre in the fight for promotion.

Meanwhile, rugby clubs across Ayrshire have until the end of this month to submit nominations for the SRU’s Community Recognition Awards for 2024.

Winners last year in the Glasgow South region included Sam Christian of Marr College, who took home the ‘schools volunteer of the year’ prize, and Allan Wilson of Irvine RFC, who was chosen as the ‘match official of the year’.

More information on the awards, and on how to put forward a nomination, can be found at tinyurl.com/communityrecognition2024.