Doncaster traveled to Devon without yet another first choice back as winger Donavon Van Vuuren had not recovered from an eye injury suffered against Harlequins. Bravely they elected to replace him with long striding No 8 Ollie Cook as replacement Craig Deakin was unfortunately unable to confirm his availability until very late. In the pack the Club switched hookers with Steve Boden coming in for Johnny Roddam who took his place on the bench.
Doncaster kicked off into the sun and, after a bright couple of minutes in the Plymouth half, they suffered a nightmare start. Plymouth gained possession midfield and a missed tackle in midfield put winger Nicolas Sestaret in the clear who then beat fullback Jon Boden to score near the posts to give Tom Hayes an easy conversion. Doncaster came back spiritedly and took play into the heart of the Plymouth midfield. They retained possession through a series of drives before taking play to the home side’s try-line where centre John Cannon was driven over for a team try wide out – unfortunately Rob Liley’s conversion attempt was just wide. After 12 minutes Doncaster prop Simon Bunting was penalised for driving in at a scrum midfield – a dubious decision by a referee who seemed to have little idea about scrummaging. However, the penalty gave Hayes the chance to extend his side’s lead which he did with ease. Again Doncaster came straight back and, after a good attack that took play well into the Plymouth 22, they were penalised for offside and Liley kicked the goal to bring the deficit back to 2 points. Again Doncaster took play into the Plymouth 22 and, after pressurising them at a line-out near their line, they had a potential try by lock Dan Cook disallowed as his side was penalised for playing the ball back on the ground. With 23 minutes gone and Plymouth’s famed driving maul from line-outs well defended by Doncaster, the referee decided to sin bin prop Bunting for allegedly collapsing a drive in spite of the fact that player he tackled was detached from the maul and in front of it. Plymouth used the resultant penalty to kick to the corner and again attempted a driving maul. The 7 man Doncaster pack defended the drive very well but, after holding out against two attempts, they succumbed when Plymouth moved the ball wide and their fly half Ed Barnes took advantage of an overlap to score halfway out for a try that Hayes again converted to take his side into a 17 points to 8 lead. For the next few minutes Doncaster attempted to put pressure on Plymouth but, when the home side broke out from a scrum inside their own 22, they would have scored but for a knock-on with the try line beckoning. Bunting returned after 33 minutes and the visitors seemed to be holding out until half-time. After 38 minutes Plymouth had to replace injured tight head prop Scott Zimmerman with Ryan Hopkins but he fared no better in the scrum against Simon Bunting than his predecessor had done. Unfortunately another refereeing mistake lead to a third Plymouth try in the 41st minute of the half. From a maul on the halfway line, Doncaster flanker was illegally held back to give Plymouth hooker Stewart Pearl a gap to race through before drawing Doncaster fullback Boden to put his own No 15 Luke Arscott over for a simple try that Hayes converted to give his side a first half lead of 24 points to 8. Plymouth did not deserve such a lead as the Doncaster pack, with prop Ngalu T’au in a rampaging mood, had more than held their own a Plymouth pack that had outgunned Harlequins a few weeks earlier.
Doncaster started the second half on fire and Rob Liley reduced the lead after 3 minutes with a penalty from 30 metres after Plymouth were penalised for killing the ball on the ground. At this point Plymouth attempted to shore up their under-pressure line out by replacing lock Mike Lewis with the giant Nicholas Rouse but his presence made no difference. Doncaster spent the next 10 minutes camped in the Plymouth half and they eventually gained a lineout 10 metres from the goal line after yet again the home side were penalised for pulling down a rolling ball. Doncaster drove the lineout ball towards the Plymouth post and, after yet another collapsed maul by a desperate home defence, the referee lost patience and ward the visitors a deserved penalty try that Liley converted. At this point Doncaster were well on top particularly as home centre Regardt Van Eyk had been sin binned for his part in collapsing the drive and Plymouth showed their concern by bring on their coach and former England hooker Graham Dawes in place of Pearl. After 20 minutes Doncaster brought on Richard List at prop in place of the outstanding but tiring Tau and, shortly afterwards the Town side drove a maul to within inches of the Plymouth line but, when the ball was eventually moved wide, winger Matt Riley unfortunately knocked on close to the line. With Doncaster unable to take full advantage of the possession that their rampaging pack was gaining them, Plymouth managed to lift the siege and take play into the visitor’s half where Hayes missed two penalty opportunities to extend his side’s lead. Plymouth brought on Argentinian Matias Albina at scrum half in place of Nigel Cane after 22 minutes and shortly afterwards Doncaster brought on Ed Norris at lock in place of Glen Kenworthy. Shortly afterwards Doncaster’s run of injuries continued when prop Richard List had to be taken off with a suspected broken hand and he was replaced by Steve Barretto. With injury time approaching Doncaster again drove well into the Plymouth half before moving the ball to the left where winger Ollie Cook justified his selection by breakjng through 2 tackles to score in the corner. Rob Liley’s magnificent conversion from the left touchline put Doncaster into a well deserved 1 point lead and raised all the traveling fans hope. At this point Plymouth made a tactical replacement at fly half by replacing Ed Barnes at fly half with goalkicker Nicolas Defty and, with 4 minutes of injury time played, the referee pulled another dubious decision out of his hat and awarded a penalty to Plymouth that Defty goaled to put his side back into the lead. Doncaster’s spirit was not broken however and they again drove into the Plymouth half where the home side were again penalised for killing the ball. With the last play of the game, Rob Liley’s attempting winning penalty attempt from 45 metres out wide to the left fell just short to leave Plymouth very lucky winners by 27 points to 25.
Apart from a couple of defensive errors in the first half, this was an excellent performance by a revitalised Doncaster side in a game that they more than deserved to win. In spite of gaining a bonus point however the winning results by fellow relegation strugglers London Welsh and Pertemps Bees have extended the pressure on Doncaster. However the side played with a tremendous belief in themselves and more than exorcised any worries – real or otherwise - that the sudden sacking of their former Director of Rugby two weeks ago may have caused. The answer to the relegation threat is now clearly in the team’s own hands with seven matches left. They are now more than confident that they can finish well outside the relegation zone and they are looking for the continuing encouragement of their loyal and vocal supporters for the remainder of the season. |
