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With an “8 point match” in prospect as 4th placed Knights entertained 3rd placed Nottingham, Doncaster’s Director of Rugby Lynn Howells reverted back to most of his regular team after the distraction of the EDF National Trophy last weekend. In the backs, Howells was able to select from strength with them all reporting fit including fly half Mark Woodrow who had had a groin operation only 10 days earlier. In the pack, Richard List started at prop, loan signing from Sale James Jones started at blindside flanker whilst utility back Tom Luke retained his place at openside after impressing against Richmond the previous week. Nottingham were anxious to reverse their home defeat against the Knights earlier in the season and arrived confident on the back of six successive wins that had made them the leading bonus points scorers in the league.
Doncaster put themselves under pressure almost from the start when they lost their own lineout on the halfway line and, two penalties in quick succession later, they found themselves pinned inside their own 22 as the visitors piled on the pressure. However the Knights had done their homework and they defied a series of driving mauls from which Nottingham had scored many tries during the course of the season. The Doncaster defence was very aggressive although they enjoyed one piece of luck when a long, floating pass was knocked on by the Nottingham 5 yards out. Gradually however the Knights managed to release the stranglehold that the visitors had on them and, after two good successive drives midfield by centre Spencer Davey and then prop List, they were awarded a penalty 40 metres out, head on to the posts for the tackler not moving away. Woodrow’s kick was spot on and the Knights took the lead somewhat against the run of play. The game centred more around misfield for the next 10 minutes as both sides sort to gain an advantage with Knight’s best chance being a 43 metre penalty by Woodrow that just missed. Shortly afterwards the Knights were a man short as lock Bryn Griffiths was yellow carded after being adjudged to have taken out his opposite number at a lineout whilst he was still in the air. Nottingham sort to take advantage of their numerical superiority but, to their credit, it was the Knights who had the best of the next 10 minutes keeping their visitors inside their own half for most of the time. However, with Griffiths about to return to the fray, Nottingham attacked from a ruck midfield and, after a good run by their centre Matt Smith, the move was carried on by fullback Greg Tonks and winger Alex Dodge before the ball was returned to the supporting Smith who scored his side’s opening try. Tonks converted the try but Doncaster were back in the hunt shortly afterwards when Woodrow kicked his second long range penalty via an upright , again for the tackler not moving away from the ball. With halftime approaching the Knight’s suffered another set back when prop Ngalu Ta’u was sinned binned when the referee ruled that he had played the ball with his hands in a ruck in spite of the big Tongan being on his feet. Tonk’s simple penalty extended his sides lead to 10 points to 6 as the teams went in for the break.
Doncaster came out all guns firing after the break as their 14 man team piled into the visitors and it was no surprise after such an aggressive start that they scored again with a well struck penalty by Woodrow from 40 metres and wide out after the Nottingham were penalised for going into a ruck from the side. Ta’u returned to the action shortly afterwards and it was then Nottingham’s turn to incur the wrath of the referee when their prop Nigel Hall was penalised for a high tackle. It was now that Howells introduced two of his trump cards off the bench in the form of his two Tongan internationals from the recent World Cup Lisiate Fa’aoso and Toma Toke in place of Griffiths and List at lock and prop respectively. It was the visitors turn to defend desperately as the Knights drove at them and they almost held out but, just as Hall was due to return, the Knights struck as the game went into the last quarter. They won a long line out through No 8 Chris Plantchant and, after they had driven the Nottingham back, the ball was released to the left where right wing Paul Bailey came into the line midfield to make a half break 10 metres out before slipping the ball to his supporting centre Brad Hunt who went over to the joy of his team mates and the home support. Woodrow’s conversion put the home side in the lead for the first time and, with 15 minutes to go, it was game on. With Fa’aoso particularly prominent with some strong runs in the loose, the Knights pinned Nottingham into their own half as their extra fitness and strength told and now it was the visitors who started conceding penalties. After 71 minutes a Nottingham player was penalised for being offside at the tackle and Woodrow extended the Knights lead to 9 points with a well struck penalty in an almost identical spot to his previous strike. Then, as the game approached injury time, Nottingham were penalised for offside at a ruck and Woodrow kicked another penalty from almost the same spot as the previous two. With the game going into injury Nottingham threw caution to the wind in their efforts to score a bonus point but the Knight’s defence held firm before the final whistle ended one of probably the fastest and most aggressively defensive games that had ever been seen at Castle Park.
After the game, Howell’s said that he thought the game was a credit to two very committed sides who both gave their all. He felt that the Knight’s defence in the first half was outstanding when they took everything thrown at them often with only 14 men. He said that he felt that the second half was as good a half as the Knights had played during his five months at the Club and that they only failed to score due to some outstanding defence by the visitors.
Doncaster Knights: Carter; Bailey; Hunt; Davey; Bishop (Storey 22 – 24); Woodrow; Jones; List (Toke 62); Boden; Ta’u (T Davies 75); Griffiths (Fa’aoso 56); Kenworthy; Jones; Plantchant; Luke Subs not used: Rees; Phillips; Cook
Nottingham Rugby: Tonks; Savage (Jackson 65); Smith; Molenaar; Dodge; Thompson (Nirmalendraw 67); Usasz (Pilgrim 74); Parr; Laney (Duffy 46); Hall (Hopkins 56 – 60); Morley; Rouse (Raven 28 Stannard 72); Hammond; Montagu; Sherriff
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