STIRLING County host Ayrshire Bulls at Bridgehaugh this evening with both teams knowing that a win will keep alive their hopes of finishing top of the table at the end of the 2022 Super6 Sprint Series with one game each left to play, while the loser will be all but guaranteed also-ran status at the end of the campaign.
Second in the table County, who are five points behind league leaders Watsonians, have been bolstered by the release of Glasgow Warriors prop Murphy Walker, while George Arnott replaces Hamish Ferguson at blindside flanker, and Ryan Southern comes in at inside centre with co-captain Marcus Holden shifting to stand-off in place of the injured Euan Cunningham.
"We have two massive matches to come in the play-offs and everyone is working as hard as they can to ensure we give ourselves the best chance of competing for the Sprint Series title,” said head coach Ben Cairns.
"The Bulls will be looking to get revenge after we won the same fixture in round two. That result was built on a strong defensive performance, with everyone working so hard for the team and really digging in. We will need to lay similar foundations if we are going to get a similar result this time around.”
Third placed Bulls, a point behind County, have also been boosted by pro player release, which has conjured up a couple of tasty match-ups in the front-row, with Thomas Lambert set to go head to head against Walker at scrum-time, and recently released Grant Stewart facing Angus Fraser, the man who is being promoted from the academy to take over the fourth hooker spot in the Warriors squad next season.
“If we are to get the desired result, we will need a bit more fire in defence and a ruthless edge to our attack,” said Horne.
Stirling County (versus Ayrshire Bulls at Bridgehaugh, Friday @ 7.45pm): L Trotter; R Tagive, B Salmon, R Southern, W Fifita; M Holden©, S Kennedy; L Skinner, A Fraser, M Walker, J Pow, A Sinclair, G Arnott, C Gordon©, B Grant. Subs: G Hiddleston, J McKenna, G Breese, M Williamson, C Cruickshank, H Russell, C Robertson, S Hamilton.
Ayrshire Bulls: Liam McNamara; E Cavan, B Beattie, A Stirrat, A Tait; T Jordan, J Lenac; T Lambert, G Stewart, M Scott, E Bloodworth, R Jackson, A McGuire, J Knight, B Macpherson©. Subs: J Drummond, W Farquhar, C Henderson, J Shedden, E Bulger, L McNamara, C Townsend, C Jones.
Referee: Keith Allen
