Most of those who were watching the match at Millbrae on Saturday were still stunned by the cruel and controversial defeat in Cardiff which ended minutes before Ayr kicked off.

What they witnessed over the next forty minutes might just have cheered them up a bit . The first half against Rotherham may have been the best coach Kenny Murray felt the side had played during his tenure but this came very very close

The Millbrae men clinched their second win from three starts in the British and Irish Cup in style starting in only two minutes with the first of Frazier Climo's three penalties and, when Gordon Reid went rollicking in two minutes later and fellow prop Stuart Fenwick having been in on the act, things looked good for the home side.

They looked even better when Paul Burke exploded into a beautifully crafted move to score number two from thirty yards out and the visitors body language told its own story. Burke added his second then AJ MacFarlane was in support of Jamie Hunter's sixty yard burst to clinch the bonus before half time.

The Ayr pack, with four club international forwards that beat the French, were enjoying themselves hugely before Climo went on a solo mazy to score from sixty yards out ten minutes into the second half and, although guest lock Rory McKay got their sixth touchdown, the use of all seven replacements inevitably meant that some momentum was lost.

All credit to B and S, sparked by their lively half backs Sam Brown and Tom Foden, they grabbed two late scores from Foden and Anthony Elliot but it was a forlorn gesture against a side who were on rampaging form.

With Mark Stewart still unavailable, Jamie Hunter took over the No10 jersey with Frazier Climo moving to center and Hunter showed just what a talent he is by giving an impeccable performance and his scorching run to set up MacFarlane's try was the icing on the cake.

AJ MacFarlane picked up the Pinewood Restaurant man of the match as he eased Hunter into his unfamiliar role, the visitors had little comeback to the midfield wiles of Climo and Ross Curle but as ever, it was the pack who provided the platform.

Four of the six tries went to the men up front with Gordon Reid's strike taking the big fellow into joint third spot in the B & I Cup try scorers and Paul Burke's first score had the coaches purring as is always the case when a move straight from the training paddock comes off.

As it stands Doncaster Knights and Rotherham Titans lead Ayr's Pool with ten points, Ayr and Cardiff are on their tails with nine points while Pontypridd have only one bonus point to their name and Birmingham and Solihull have yet to trouble the scorer.

As well as Gordon Reid featuring in the try scoring stakes, Frazier Climo leads the competitions points scoring list, his forty two points (eleven ahead of joint second placed Daniel Newton of Llanelli and Ali Warnock of Doncaster).

Ayr's next match in the B & I Cup is in a fortnight at Millbrae against Pontypridd who went down 33-22 against Rotherham at the weekend and if Ayr can pull this one off, a possible decider awaits when they travel to Cardiff on March 3rd.

Ayr team
D. Steele; A WIlson, R Curle, F Climo, J McClung; J Hunter, AJ MacFarlane; G Reid, P MacArthur, S Fenwick, S Sutherland, D Kelly, A Dunlop, P Burke, G Tippett Subs E Kalman, S Adair, G Sykes, R MacKay, J Crossan, C Taylor, S Manning