Doncaster Rugby Club

Doncaster were able to field a strong backline that included James Rothwell and Michael Wood returning after injury, and summer signing Joe van den Berg on his season's debut - but all were overshadowed by a superb all round performance from Steve Meyer whose blistering pace and balanced running were evident as early as the opening seconds when he scored the first of his four tries with just 24 seconds on the clock! It was Rothwell who made it - he had taken Meyer's pass to break clear and when he was finally hauled down, it was meyer on his shoulder to take the offload and streak away. Guy Townsley added the conversion and the crowd settled down to enjoy more of the same. B&B had other ideas, though, and their stronger pack and all round team spirit made it a real contest. At one point only a fabulous Wood tackle saved a try, but two clear scoring opportunities at the other end were wasted when first Rothwell (with an awful inside forward pass) and then Scott Plevey (lost the ball in contact) erred. A second try did come five minutes before the break when prop John Kay barged over after Danny Ligairi's neat inside pass; and on the stroke of half time Wood clever attack sent Rothwell into the corner. 19-0 at the break.

Early home pressure brought a penalty try when an offside B&B forward clearly prevented a score; and almost immediately a driven maul at the other end brought B&B a try of their own. The Steve Meyer Show then really took off! Joe Van den Berg's huge tackle caused attacking B&B ball to spill, Meyer picked it off the floor and shot away like a rocket to run 50 metres to the posts. His hat trick came on the hour mark after good handling throughout the side set up the chance and again it was his pace and angle of run that took him through the defence like a hot knife though butter to score at the posts. B&B never gave up and scored a second try of their own when their big centre threw an outrageous dummy to score; but the last word properly went to Meyer who finished the afternoon with a classy try. Replacement scrum half Dan Storey ran laterally off an attacking scrum, decoy runners confusedthe defence, and Meyer timed his run against the angle to perfection to cut the line with ease. Storey converted (his fourth success in an impressive all round performance) and 47-14 was the final score. Great entertainment only slightly marred by two late injuries to Sosa (who had a huge all round game) and debutant Liam Rodda who impressed throughout at number eight.

Referee: Nick Masheder (Wakefield).