The anger they can expect at training tomorrow night from Kenny Murray, their coach, will come as sweet music to the Ayr players. Despite sitting clear at the top of the Scottish Hydro Electric Premiership, they know Heriot’s exposed some clear issues they will have to address if they are to stay there.

Murray was not mincing his words after the 29-25 victory at Goldenacre. “That was our worst performance of the season,” he said. “There are one or two individual performances that I will discuss with the players during the week, some of them took this match to have their worst game of the season. It’s an away win, and a bonus point and I suppose if you’d have offered me that at the start of the week I would have bitten your arm off, but the performance was not what it should have been.”

Murray has been responsible for transforming the Ayr club, which has been close to the top of the league in recent seasons without really threatening to win it - if opponents could stand up to their pack they had no alternative plan. Now, their free-flowing style is capable of producing tries from anywhere, as they demonstrated with a final-quarter fightback that produced two converted tries for Scott Sutherland, the lock, and Jeff Wilson, the flanker, that overhauled the Edinburgh club’s ten-point lead.

They moved clear of the rest after Selkirk, who had gone into the weekend level with Ayr on points but behind on score difference, were crushed at Hawick. It is too early to suggest this is the end of their Premiership dream, but the six-try romp at their Borders neighbours is certainly a dose of reality for them.

Watsonians replace them in second place after seeing off West of Scotland 38-12, and Boroughmuir, the champions, are hard on their heels after their 27-20 win at Melrose that was more comfortable than the score suggests.

In the other games, Stirling County were unlucky not to register their first win of the season when they were held to a 13-13 draw at Currie, and Edinburgh Accies were far too strong for the young Glasgow Hawks team, winning 32-17.