Doncaster Rugby Club

Otley 9 Doncaster Knights 19

Off colour Knights struggle to win that puts them third

Doncaster made several changes to the team that had lost to Leeds. With Ben Gollings injured, Mark Woodrow was back at fly half. Wes Davies was given an outing in his preferred position at full back and Paul Bailey was recalled on one wing. In the pack there were starts for Dan Cook and Netani Talei. Only Bailey will look back on a quite forgettable match with any pride. If the Leeds game was National One rugby at its best, this was arguably as poor as it gets. The Knights tried hard but were error ridden in the face of an Otley side who were feisty and whose strategy of damage limitation was the success of the day. That Otley never looked like scoring a try, but thought that Ian Shuttleworth’s late third penalty strike had won them a losing bonus point, says almost everything about the afternoon. Clive Griffiths was under the weather – so were his team.

Otley had started well, pressing their visitors in the opening minutes, but when the Knights at last went on the attack signs of things to come were quickly evident as two dropped balls were gratefully hacked back behind them by Otley boots. From hand Otley were also cleverly using the slope into their right hand corner to kick the Knights back into their own territory and forcing them to start from deep. Poor passing meant that nothing came of anything. It was thus no surprise when Shuttleworth kicked a penalty on 28 minutes after Talei had held on in the tackle after picking up from the base of the scrum, to give the home side a lead that lasted until the eighth minute of first half stoppage time. Occasional chances were created by the Knights, notably when Ben Jones broke from a scrum up the middle, Jason Forster and Glen Kenworthy carried further in good support, but the return scoring pass to Forster was knocked on with the home line at his mercy. Talei was next to drop one going forward; and Wes Davies put in a huge up and under that he chased well, his tackle forcing an attacking scrum in excellent field position. However that position was lost as tempers flared, two fights broke out, and Simon Bunting found himself being shown yellow when two others from each side were clearly the ones throwing the forceful punches! A man short, the Knights still managed to return to the home ’22 where handling errors were again to the fore; and it somehow typified the half when Woodrow’s good penalty to the right corner set up a line out catch and drive which should have been productive but saw the maul being easily held and then driven back by the exuberant Otley pack. Woodrow and Davies combined to give Donovan Van Vuuren an opportunity but he was held just short, and James Tiffany’s cynical side entry to the ruck rightly saw him sent to the sin bin. That penalty was again sent to the corner flag and this time the line out throw was not straight and another chance gone. Just as everyone was shaking heads in disbelief, and the eighth minute of stoppage time was played, finally a cohesive and incisive attack! First John Cannon raced onto flat ball off a line out to break the first line of defence, Ben Phillips carried on towards the posts, and when he was tackled short the ball was moved quickly right and a lovely Woodrow long miss pass saw Bailey free to get into the corner. Woodrow converted from the touchline and somehow the Knights went in ahead at the break. One Doncaster Director described the half as “shocking”. Nobody disagreed.

Thoughts of a recent poor first half at Coventry, and Griffiths' effective sharp words during that interval, gave hope of a second half turn around; and the Knights certainly started with intent. Cannon, Van Vuuren and Jones combined to get into the Otley ’22 and a penalty was won in front of the posts. Woodrow, though, inexplicably missed the simple kick to the jeers of the home supporters. The next attack ended with a forward pass. Then Bailey almost made the right corner but was forced into touch. At the other end, Davies’ clearance kick was charged down and in a scramble for the ball the Knights were lucky to get away with off ball obstruction that supported the home claims of at least a penalty, maybe even a penalty try. It wasn’t a good day for referee Maybank, who was at a loss to manage the imbalanced front rows, and who was obviously unaware of the requirement for a credible feed at the scrums. Around the hour, with the game lacking any shape, Shuttleworth suddenly appeared in the line, straightened to waltz through the defence and only a great Earnshaw tackle brought him down, but a penalty ensued and Shuttleworth was on target to reduce the deficit to a single point. Thoughts of an unlikely home win were now circulating the crowd and the Knights endured a sticky ten minutes before finally scoring a second try. Woodrow kicked a penalty to the left corner: the maul was held out and the backs transferred the ball only to mishandle. But advantage was being played and back they went to the corner again, and this time the maul did work well and Jason Forster was driven over for his 22^nd of the season. Woodrow’s extras made the gap eight points, but almost immediately Otley were back in the Knights half, the Knights were offside at the ruck, and Shuttleworth took three points in the 78^th minute to give the relegation haunted home side what looked like a losing bonus point. It was only at this late point in the game that the Knights finally looked like a top of table side! In a flash Van Vuuren was set free on the left, stopped only by a wonderful cover tackle, but quick recycled ball went right where Forster appeared to make a good pick up and float a long pass to the wing where Bailey made the corner with ease. Woodrow’s conversion hit the left post, but Otley’s bonus point had disappeared. And from the restart another flowing backs move saw Bailey in off his wing to break through the centre, and with support to both sides of him he chose to pass to the covered Van Vuuren on his left when the inside pass would surely have brought a bonus fourth try in the most unlikely of circumstances!

A decidedly disappointed Clive Griffiths said that “the side showed plenty of intent, but no edge and too many errors”. Was it a case of reaction to the intensity of last weekend, or an inability to respond to the Otley spoiling play?  Credit the home side, certainly, whose injury problems forced them to field an on loan Bradford & Bingley prop, with another from Wharfedale on the bench. But it was a very poor day at the office for the Knights who nevertheless moved up to third place with this win, but who will have to pick themselves to give the Cornish Pirates a contest next Saturday at Castle Park in the EDF Energy National Trophy Quarter Final (2.30pm). Thoughts of a Twickenham appearance would be fanciful on this evidence!

Otley: Shuttleworth, Andre (Mooney 55), Dench, Whatmuff, Smith, Brown, Chivers, Livesey, Steele (Jayes 79), Wederell, Parr (Whitehead 40), Tomes, Tiffany (Connor 68), Hyde (Bland 10), Stockdale.

Doncaster: Davies T, Bailey, Cannon, Davey (Hunt 57), Van Vuuren, Woodrow, Jones (Scully 75), Bunting, Phillips (Boden 79), Tau (Davies 55), Cook D (Gross 55), Kenworthy, Earnshaw (Cook O 70), Forster, Talei (Grainger 55).

Referee: Roy Maybank (RFU)