Doncaster Rugby Club

Morley 8 Doncaster Knights 35

Yorkshire Cup Semi Final

Doncaster brushed aside a spirited Morley outfit to reach the Yorkshire Cup Final at York on 2^nd May, when their opponents will be either Harrogate or Wharfedale.

Clive Griffiths fielded a largely “A” team combination that nevertheless included Mark Woodrow, Wes Davies and John Cannon in the backs. There was an inevitable lack of cohesion in a disjointed first half which also suffered from the inexperience of the referee at a match of such intensity; and at the break the Knights led only by 14-3 courtesy of tries by Woodrow and Rob Worrincy, both of which Woodrow converted. Glen Boyd replied with a solitary penalty for the home side.

After the interval there was more cohesion to the Knights’ efforts but they were pegged back to 14-8 when Dan Storey’s clearing kick was charged down and Morley flanker Craig Field was first to the loose ball. This galvanized the Knights into action and two tries in seven minutes sealed the win. First Michael Wood dived into the right corner after Dave Scully had broken neaten down the blind side following a series of pick and drive rucks; and then Simon Grainger was driven over from a classic line out catch and drive after the home side conceded penalties under pressure. There was time for one old fashioned outburst of fighting, in which most players took part without any real intensity, but Dan Cook was deemed to be the instigator and got ten minutes to cool down on the touchline. Morley defended desperately to the end, suffered a sin binning of their own for deliberate infringements, and after Scully had been deemed to be held up over the line, Dan Storey coolly broke from the ensuing scrum to score, and convert, the final try of the evening.

When the Knights did put cohesive phases together, and showed First Division skills, the gap between National One and Three was evident; but it happened too infrequently in a largely unsatisfactory stop, start affair from which Morley will feel they came out of with great credit for their efforts to frustrate the senior side. The Cup Final is at York on 2^nd May at 7pm.

Knights: Davies, Worrincy, Cannon, Ellis (Scully 52), Wood, Woodrow (Deakin 75), List (Rawson 64), Plevey (Dowridge 44), Rawson (Barretto 40), Griffiths, Cook D, Peacey, Grainger (Cusack 64), Cook O.

Referee: S Lazenby (Driffield)