Gala 36

Ayr 17

Bob Sneddon

at Netherdale

GALA'S impressive return to form continued on Saturday with a deserved bonus-point win over Ayr.

And it was a fitting tribute to one of Gala's greatest supporters, Bill Dods, who died recently at the age of 80.

Bill had been a stalwart Gala supporter most of his adult life watching his son David and his nephews Peter and Michael.

He also sat on the Gala committee for a few years before dedicating his time bringing through the players of the future with the Red Triangle.

Bill had been immensely proud when his grandson Euan was appointed captain of Gala.

And it was Euan who led 30 seconds of applause ahead of kick off.

As has been the case in recent weeks, Gala stormed out the blocks.

Some great handling led to Fergus Johnston dodging two tackles before scoring in the corner.

Ross Cooke made it 7-0 with the conversion before adding a penalty just after the quarter hour.

Ayr responded with a penalty of their own just after the half hour.

But it was Gala who finished the half strongest with Ruairi Howarth jinking his way to the line for a try.

Cooke's kick made it 17-3 at the break.

The confidence running through Gala's ranks just now was evident early in the second half when captain Dods elected to take scrum when awarded a penalty on Ayr's 22.

It proved the right decision with Lachlan Johnston feeding his brother Fergus on the blind side for the try.

A clever interception by Howarth on his own 22 saw the fullback sprint the length of the pitch for the bonus-point try.

Cooke's conversion gave Gala a commanding 29-3 lead.

Just after the hour Lachlan Johnston and Howarth teamed up to send Liam Scott over for another try.

The successful conversion put Gala 36-3 ahead.

A late rally from Ayr saw Zac Howard and Jack Rennie both score converted tries, but the game had already been won by Gala.

This week Gala travel to Dundee as they look to keep up their impressive form of late.