Doncaster Knights fought hard against reigning champions Ealing Trailfinders to claim the full five points on the road in 35-36 victory.

The Knights opened the scores almost instantly as Rhys Tait showed brilliant strength to carry through Ealing defence and find his way under the posts. Alex Dolly added the extras to give Doncaster the head start.

The even match in ability between the two squads was reflected in how quickly the hosts answered back. Ealing stretched the ball out to the wing and found the space out wide to score. Their fly half, Jones added the extras to level the scores early on.

Doncaster initially had dominance at scrum time and a scrum penalty allowed Alex Dolly to claim three points. Shortly after, Dolly added another three thanks to a turnover at the breakdown by Tait. 

Ealing then spent a while within the 22, they struggled to get the ball over the line from the rolling maul so opted to ship to the backline. Centre, Colgate managed to dart through and score. Jones added the extras.

Jordan Olowofela didn’t allow Ealing to keep the lead for too long as he received a well delayed pass from Morgan Bunting, which opened the gap for Olowofela to work his magic. Dolly secured another conversion.

Ealing clawed back another try as they appeared to set up for a kick into touch following a penalty. However, they opted to quick tap and attack a gap on the wing. Jones converted to put them in front again. 

Doncaster’s scrum continued to dominate as another scrum penalty meant Dolly could secure another three points. 

Ealing’s rolling maul proved to be more successful on this occasion as their hooker broke over the line.  However a missed conversion meant the scores remianed within three (26-23).

Olowofela gave Doncaster the edge heading into half time. The Knights were playing a penalty advantage so Connor Edwards risked a grubber kick through Ealing’s defence, Olowofela outpaced Ealing and collected the ball over the line. 

Half time score 26-28. 

It was the men in green who claimed the first points of the second half as they gained three from a penalty. They continue to push at Doncaster’s defence but the Knights showed fantastic work rate to turn over the ball at a driving maul. 

Bunting read Ealing’s defence well and chose to carry up the pitch as he spotted a gap. This put Doncaster in a good position for Dolly to kick for another three. 

As tensions rose, Doncaster’s discipline slipped and they conceded two penalties in quick succession meaning Ealing regained the lead again. 

However, the Knights recomposed themselves and Olowofela claimed his second hat-trick of the season to snatch the final score of the game. Connor Edwards popped the ball to Semesa Rokoduguni out on the wing. Roko then sent it to Wacokecoke. Wacokecoke offloaded back inside to Olowofela, who jumped out of a tackle to carry the ball over the line.

It was a nail-biting final few moments as Doncaster were defending on their try line. But they applied great pressure and a knock on at the breakdown meant they regained possession to secure the win. 

Final score Ealing 35, Doncaster 36. 

The Knights are back at Castle Park next week to face London Scottish. You can secure your tickets here! 

Doncaster Knights have named their squad for the first away trip of the Championship season. Round three sees the Knights face Ealing Trailfinders away.

With a few changes to this weeks starting line up, Lewis Thiede replaces Logovi’i Mulipola in the front row due to Mulipola picking up calf injury during the Nottingham game. Conor Davidson and George Roberts remain 1 and 2. Fred Davies is still the replacement hooker with front row replacements Joe Jones and Jasper McGuire.

Cory Teague earns his first start moving Thom Smith to the back row. Teague will be part of a second row pairing with captain, Ben Murphy. While Smith is joined in the back row by Rhys Tait and Morgan Strong.

Josh Williams, Archie Smeaton and Arthur Green are the other forwards amongst the replacements.

The backline remains exactly the same as last week, Alex Dolly and Morgan Bunting as half backs, Connor Edwards and Zach Kerr in the centre and Maliq Holden, Semesa Rokoduguni and Jordan Olowofela at back three. The two replacements, Ollie Fox and George Wacokecoke also staying the same.

Starting XV | 15, Jordan Olowofela. 14, Semesa Rokoduguni. 13, Zach Kerr. 12, Connor Edwards. 11, Maliq Holden. 10, Morgan Bunting. 9, Alex Dolly. 1, Conor Davidson. 2, George Roberts. 3, Lewis Thiede. 4, Ben Murphy (C). 5, Cory Teague. 6, Thom Smith. 7, Rhys Tait. 8, Morgan Strong. 

Replacements | 16, Fred Davies. 17, Joe Jones. 18, Jasper McGuire. 19, Josh Williams. 20, Archie Smeaton. 21, Arthur Green. 22, Ollie Fox. 23, George Wacokecoke.

Morgan Bunting joined Doncaster Knights this season, but his name is no stranger at Castle Park because his Dad, Simon Bunting has 96 caps for the Knights.

Morgan explained how he has settled into Castle Park: “I’ve really loved it here. It’s quite close to home, so it’s a pretty big deal for me to come into a club like this.

“Obviously, with being a new player, settling in can always be a little bit difficult, but now there’s such a big group that have come together, it’s been pretty easy to integrate into the squad with the lads that were already here.” 

The fly-half said he and his family are “very proud” to have joined his Dad’s former club, “I’ve always looked up to my dad. It’s massive to come to a club he was a part of and successful at.

“It’s a club that I remember a lot from growing up. I remember being four or five years old and spending a lot of time at this club. So it’s a big deal for me to come here.” 

At the weekend, The Knights suffered their first defeat of the season to Bunting’s former club, Nottingham. He reflected on the performance: “I think just the harsh reality is we probably weren’t good enough on the day. There’s a lot of pride and aspiration in the group, and I think we all let ourselves down a little bit.

“But, when you look back at the game, there were some positives to take away from it. I feel we spent a lot of time in the Nottingham half, credit to them, they defended. But if you play that game again, I feel like we know now what to do to come away with points and turn that pressure into points.” 

Bunting said: “It was strange to play against Nottingham, but good to see a lot of the lads, I do have a lot of close friends there so it was good to see them.” 

 

 

The Knights are heading into a very important game this weekend, against current Championship winners, Ealing Trailfinders. 

Bunting said: “We had a tough Monday review, worked out what we need to do and I think we are all focused towards the next challenge, which is going away to reigning champions Ealing. There is no bigger test really at the minute. We’re just taking it week by week.” 

“There’s always some additional little challenges with away games. Obviously the travel can affect you, but I feel at this level you have to go to a lot of different places, so I think it’s more just getting used to having two games at home then being on the road. We will see how we react to that.” 

Doncaster Knights v Ealing Trailfinders kicks off at 3pm onSaturday, you can follow the live feed on our twitter page. 

Alternatively, the Knights are back at Castle Park the following week to face London Scottish. Secure your tickets here.

 

 

Doncaster Knights are looking for casual bar staff with previous experience. 

Hours

• Flexible
• Varied based on events
• Weekends/evenings and some weekdays
• Match days

Responsibilities

• Prepare alcohol or non-alcohol beverages for bar
• Interact with customers, take orders and serve snacks and drinks
• Assess customers’ needs and preferences and make recommendations
• Plan and present bar
• Check customers’ identification and confirm it meets legal drinking age
• Restock and replenish bar inventory and supplies
• Stay customer focused and nurture an excellent guest experience
• Comply with all food and beverage regulations

Requirements and skills

• Have experience as a Bartender
• Excellent knowledge the different types of drinks
• Positive attitude and excellent communication skills
• Ability to keep the bar organised, stocked and clean
• Previous experience using tills

How to apply:

If you are interested in the role, please email your CV to dlowery@castle-park.co.uk