Dougie Flockhart takes on Esher

Brett Davey has praised the performance of his Knights as they secured their spot in the Championship promotion play-offs with a dominant 41-24 win over bottom side Esher.

The top-eight finish has now been confirmed after other results went in Doncaster’s favour with four fixtures of the regular season remaining.

“All credit must go to the players, they’ve been terrific and stage one of our plan for the season is complete. We now need to re-focus and get the next stage underway.

“We’ve got to be critical however – there was some poor play that we need to address. There’s a lot of ability in the squad but we were ring-rusty.”

The milestone has come as a relief to the DOR, who has struggled at times to fulfil his side’s potential due to the small size of the squad at Castle Park.

“It’s been a tough year at times but I was quietly confident in the ability of this group of players, and I believe we’ve recruited well this season. We’re trying to play attractive rugby in a non-English style which is forwards-led, but where the forwards are capable of attacking all over the park.”

Full-back Dougie Flockhart grabbed a 26-point haul including three tries in a Man of the Match performance and Davey was impressed with the Scotsman’s contribution.

“Dougie had a lot on his plate, as he was kicking for the first time, but he got involved a lot and he deserved MOTM. Mike Whitehead also did well to get 65 minutes on his return, and I was pleased that we managed to use the whole bench – it shows we have strength in depth.”

The Knights were able to hand debuts to new signings Tomas Francis and Gareth Quinn-McDonogh once the win was in sight and Davey is also looking forward to introducing Dan Smith and Toby Berridge into the fray.

“Tom and Gareth did well, and I’ve been impressed by what I’ve seen of Toby. We pick the players who will do their best for this club rather than rotating for strategic reasons – we will give everybody a chance if their form is good enough.”