Doncaster Knights come from behind to defeat Bristol Bears 14-33 in closed doors friendly fixture
6th September 2024
The Knights travelled down to Bristol Bears training facilities to take on the west country team in a friendly fixture that took place behind closed doors.
Despite being 14-0 down at half time, the Knights displayed a determined and skilful performance that allowed them to dominate the second half.
The tricky conditions in the first half meant it was a slow start for Doncaster, however there was some promising moments throughout.
Bristol came close to scoring their first points during a line out on the 5m line. However, the Knights defended with strength and managed to regain possession during the rolling maul. The visitors then opted for the scrum before Alex Dolly comfortably cleared the exit kick.
The Knights continued to defend well with both Thom Smith and Ben Murphy earing turnovers from jackles. However, after holding out the home team for a while, Bristol eventually cracked the defence and scored two tries in quick succession.
Bristol’s first score followed a line out where the ball was offloaded to a forward that squeezed his way through the Knights’ defence. Their second try also followed a line out with the hooker breaking away from the rolling maul and sliding over the line.
Both Bristol’s tries were converted meaning the Knights went into half time 14-0 down.
Nonetheless, Doncaster lit up the second half with exciting attack and impeccable defence, scoring five tries and conceding none.
The Knights threw a long line out to Lewis Thiede who carried well to gain ground, before Dolly offloaded to Taniela Ramasibana. Ramasibana carried to the line and popped the ball to Maliq Holden, who finished the try in the corner. Russ Bennett confidently slotted the conversion from out wide.
Holden then claimed a second score after the forwards made a series of carries on the line. This drew in the defence and opened the space for Holden to receive the ball and finish in the corner again. Bennett levelled the scores with another conversion from the touchline.
Connor Davison made a fantastic break and gained serious ground before offloading to Ben Chapman. Chapman delayed his offload to Ollie Fox long enough to open the gap for Fox to carry the remaining distance and score. Bennett added the extras again.
Jordan Olowofela was the next Knight to get his name on the score sheet. Fox fed the ball out the scrum to Bennett, who then shifted the ball back inside as Olowofela ran onto the ball at pace, allowing him to slide right over the line. Yet again, Bennett added the extras.
Finally, Holden earned himself a hattrick when reacted quickly to a loose ball, kicking it down the wing and chasing at pace. He showed great speed to beat the Bristol defenders to the ball and gather it over the line.
Full time score, 14-33.
After a promising game, the Knights now look ahead to the start of the Championship on Saturday the 21st of September, where they will face Ampthill at home.
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