YOUTH Rugby in the Cumnock area has been experiencing an unprecedented period of growth over recent years however the one area that was lagging behind the boom was girls rugby.

It's safe to say that this is no longer the case and last week saw a first with a game between Auchinleck Academy and Cumnock Academy at U15 level.

The local school teams were joined by a girls team from Grange Academy giving the Cumnock Academy Girls team their first full U15 fixture.

The festival ran very smoothly with Auchinleck winning comfortably against Grange and winning a closer affair with Cumnock. The Cumnock team also played Grange and managed to pull out their first win.

The teacher in charge of rugby at Auchinleck Academy commented: "The girls programme at Auchinleck has been very successful and goes from strength to strength, with Cumnock Academy also fielding a team the future of girls is looking strong. Cumnock Rugby Development officer Harry Reilly added: "The girls programme in the area had stalled for a while. However, it has restarted well and we now have over 40 girls playing across the two schools. The common ground for the two school teams is Cumnock Rugby Club where the u15 side has now joined a West Region League and the girls will have fixtures most weeks. The girls section is vital to the continued success of rugby at the club."