and he gained his 12 caps during the last ten years playing for London Scottish and Edinburgh. Mark Bennett, now with Edinburgh, whose career began at nearby Cumnock, joined Ayr, aged 17 and played for the club prior to moving-on the Glasgow Warriors and Scotland. Scotland caps Ali Price and D'Arcy Rae also spent time with Ayr during their rise to international status. Ross Curle, Robbie Fergusson (now co-captain of the Scotland Sevens squad), Stuart Fenwick, Danny McCluskey, Grant Anderson, Kerr Gossman, Stafford McDowall, Robbie Smith, Matt Davidson, Marshall Sykes, Euan McLaren and Paddy Dewhirst are just a few of the current and recent Ayr squad who have represented Scotland at age grade level. Emily Irving of Ayr Ladies has caps for Scotland Women Under-20s and the senior side. Scott Sutherland, Craig Gossman, Dean Kelbrick, Andrew Dunlop, Nick Cox, Callum Templeton, Robin McAlpine, Steven Longwell, Blair Macpherson, Pete McCallum, David Armstrong, Damien Kelly have all played for the Scotland Club XV. Gordon Reid, Pat MacArthur and Finn Russell won full international caps in the 2013–14 season. 2008–09 Season – Premier 1 Champions On 7 March 2009, the 1st XV made history as the first Ayr team to win the Premier Division, after a 20–10 win against Edinburgh Accies with 3 games still left in the season. 2009–10 and 2010–11 Seasons – Scottish Cup Success On 24 April 2010, Ayr ran overpowered Melrose 36–23 to win the Scottish Cup final at Murrayfield. Following a late burst of scoring meant they finished the game with five tries – enough for the bonus point they wanted in a match that also counted towards the Scottish Premiership race, however the next match was the decider at Currie RFC, in front of 2,500 people, where Ayr were beaten narrowly missing out on an unprecedented double. Ayr retained their cup title on 16 April 2011 by again beating Melrose, this time by 25–21. Ayr went on to Murrayfield for a third consecutive final in 2012, but this time were defeated by Gala. 2012–13 Further Success The 2012–13 season proved very fruitful for Ayr. Their first silverware came in November through the Bill McLaren Shield, a new trophy for winning at home, taking possession of the shield when they beat Edinburgh Accies at Raeburn Place, and then becoming the first team to have their name engraved on it, having defended it four times after beating GHA in