Rugby Canada Head Coach Mark Anscombe has named his 26-man squad that will travel to Castle Park as part of their UK tour next month.

The Canucks will face against an Ulster side as well as the Knights on their summer tour.

The squad features 11 players who have test caps to their name in Kyle Baillie, Nanyak Dala, Matt Heaton, Phil Mackenzie, Gordon McRorie, Dan Moor, Pat Parfrey, Benoit Piffero, Mozac Samson, Brock Staller and Jordan Wilson-Ross.

Tickets for this feature pre-season clash are on sale now. Adult tickets are £10 in the De Mulder Lloyd Stand and £5 on the terraces with concession entry just £5 across the stadium. Under 16s go free on the terraces when accompanied by a paying adult. To purchase your tickets please call 01302 831388 or email reception@castle-park.co.uk.

 

Canada Squad (Name, club, hometown):

Lucas Albornoz – (Burnaby Lake RFC/Prairie Wolf Pack) Vancouver, BC

Kyle Baillie – (Ohio/Atlantic Rock) Summerside, PEI?

Admir Cejvanovic – (Burnaby Lake RFC/BC Bears) Burnaby, BC

Nanyak Dala – (Castaway Wanderers/Prairie Wolf Pack) Saskatoon, SK

Matt Heaton – (Darlington Mowden Park/Atlantic Rock) Godmanchester, QC

Peter Houlihan – (Strathcona Druids/Prairie Wolf Pack) Calgary, AB

Daniel Joyce – (Dublin University Football Club) Greystones, Co. Wicklow, Ireland

Conor Keys – (UVic Vikes/Atlantic Rock) Stittsville, ON

Ryan Kotlewski – (Calgary Saints/Prairie Wolf Pack) Calgary, AB

Ben LeSage – (UBC Thunderbirds/Prairie Wolf Pack) Calgary, AB

Kainoa Lloyd – (Mississauga Blues/Ontario Blues) Mississauga, ON

Anthony Luca – (Burnaby Lake RFC/BC Bears) Burnaby, BC

Phil Mackenzie – (San Diego/Ontario Blues) Oakville, ON

Alex Mascott – (UBC Thunderbirds/BC Bears) Langley, BC

Cody McClary – (Port Alberni RFC/BC Bears) Port Alberni, BC

Aidan McMullan – (Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue RFC/Atlantic Rock) Montreal, QC

Gordon McRorie – (Calgary Hornets/Prairie Wolf Pack) Calgary, AB

Dan Moor – (Balmy Beach RFC/Ontario Blues) Toronto, ON

Oliver Nott – (UVic Vikes/BC Bears) Qualicum, BC

Pat Parfrey – (Swilers RFC/Atlantic Rock) St. John’s, NL

Benoit Piffero – (Blagnac Sporting Rugby Club/Atlantic Rock) Montreal, QC

Robbie Povey – (Bedford Athletic/Prairie Wolf Pack) Northampton, England

Mozac Samson – (Calgary Saints/Prairie Wolf Pack) Calgary, AB

Brock Staller – (UBC Thunderbirds/BC Bears) Vancouver, BC

Adrian Wadden – (Oakville Crusaders/Ontario Blues) Mississauga, ON

Jordan Wilson-Ross – (James Bay AA/Ontario Blues) Alliston, ON

 

Following the release of the provisional Greene King IPA Championship and British and Irish Cup fixtures the Club can now confirm the dates and kick off times for all 2016/17 Castle Park fixtures.

The Knights will continue to predominantly play home fixtures on Saturday afternoons, kick off 14:30. There are two exceptions, Round six of the British and Irish Cup and Round twenty-two of the Championship, which will kick off at 15:00 on January 21^st and April 15^th respectively.

Please see full home fixtures list below*

 

Round 2 – 10th September 14:30

 

Doncaster Knights v Rotherham Titans

 

Round 4 – 24th September 14:30

 

Doncaster Knights v Bedford Blues

 

Round 6 – 8th October 14:30

 

Doncaster Knights v Nottingham Rugby

 

B&I Cup Round 2 – 22^nd October 14:30

 

Doncaster Knights v Munster ‘A’

  

Round 8 – 5th November 14:30

 

Doncaster Knights v London Scottish

  

Round 10 – 26th November 14:30

 

Doncaster Knights v Cornish Pirates

 

B&I Cup Round 4 – 17^th December 14:30

 

Pool 2: Doncaster Knights v London Welsh

 

Round 13 – 31^st December 14:30

 

Doncaster Knights v Richmond

 

B&I Cup Round 6 –  21^st January 15:00

 

Pool 2: Doncaster Knights v Rotherham Titans

 

Round 15 – 4^th February 14:30

 

Doncaster Knights v Ealing Trailfinders

 

Round 17 – 25^th February 14:30

 

Doncaster Knights v London Welsh

 

Round 19 – 18^th March 14:30

 

Doncaster Knights v Yorkshire Carnegie

  

Round 21 – 8^th April 14:30

 

Doncaster Knights v Jersey Reds

 

Round 22 – 15^th April 15:00

 

Doncaster Knights v London Irish

 

*Fixtures subject to change.

 

   

 

Congratulations to DRFC Girls section players Annie Campbell and Georgia Staples who successfully progressed to the Yorkshire Summer Training Programme.

Annie (13) from Hayfield School started playing rugby at Castle Park as part of the mixed under 10s age group before joining up with the girls under 13s last season and will join up with the under 15s in September.

Georgia (16) from Outwood Academy, began her rugby journey at Doncaster RFC as recently as April last year and will play as part of the under 18s in September.

Heading into their third season, the Doncaster Girls section is still very much in it’s infancy and all the girls have put in an incredible amount of effort to achieve the success they have had already; buddying up with other clubs to get game time and attending festivals. 

The section is still relatively small but are planning a concerted recruitment drive over the summer and are also delivering in a range of local schools in September.

Commenting on Annie and Georgia’s success Head Coach Adam Lloyd said “The girls have worked very hard training at Doncaster and now they know they have to work even harder to stay in the Yorkshire set up”

John Hearsey from the girls’ kit sponsor, Bankwood Meats, said “We are Delighted that two or our girls gone through to the County Summer Training Camp and from all at Bankwood Meats we wish them all the best of luck during the Summer.”

If anyone would like to give rugby a try please contact: Lisa Davis on 01302 831388 opt 3 or ldavis@castle-park.co.uk

The Knights have drawn Rotherham Titans, London Welsh and Munster ‘A’ in Pool two of the 2016/17 British and Irish Cup.

The Knights can look forward to facing the defending Cup Champions, a South-Yorkshire derby and welcoming Munster ‘A’ to Castle Park for the second time in three seasons; having beaten the Cork men at the quarter final stage of the 2014/15 competition.

The Round One trip to Clifton Lane is one of only two all-English ties in the opening round before hosting Munster ‘A’ a week later and then looking forward to back-to-back clashes with the Exiles in December.

The first Cup tie of the new year will be a trip to the South of Ireland for the Munster return before the group stages conclude at home to Rotherham.

As always all group stage clashes of the British and Irish Cup are included as part of the Knights season ticket package which are on sale now.

British & Irish Cup 2016/17 pools and fixtures

Pool 1 Jersey Reds London Scottish Ulster ‘A’ Cardiff Blues Premiership Select Pool 2 London Welsh Doncaster Knights Munster ‘A’ Rotherham Titans

Pool 3 Cornish Pirates London Irish Ospreys Premiership Select Connacht Eagles

Pool 4 Leinster ‘A’ Scarlets Premiership Select Nottingham Rugby Richmond Pool 5 Yorkshire Carnegie Bedford Blues Dragons Premiership Select Ealing Trailfinders

Fixtures

 

Round 1 – October 14/15/16

 

Pool 1: Ulster ‘A’ v Jersey Reds

Pool 1: Cardiff Blues Premiership Select v London Scottish

Pool 2: Rotherham Titans v Doncaster Knights

Pool 2: Munster ‘A’ v London Welsh

Pool 3: Connacht Eagles v Cornish Pirates

Pool 3: Ospreys Premiership Select v London Irish

Pool 4: Nottingham Rugby v Scarlets Premiership Select

Pool 4: Richmond v Leinster ‘A’

Pool 5: Bedford Blues v Dragons Premiership Select

Pool 5: Ealing Trailfinders v Yorkshire Carnegie

 

Round 2 – October 21/22/23

 

Pool 1: Jersey Reds v Cardiff Blues Premiership Select

Pool 1: London Scottish v Ulster ‘A’

Pool 2: Doncaster Knights v Munster ‘A’

Pool 2: London Welsh v Rotherham Titans

Pool 3: Cornish Pirates v Ospreys Premiership Select

Pool 3: London Irish v Connacht Eagles

Pool 4: Scarlets Premiership Select v Richmond

Pool 4: Leinster ‘A’ v Nottingham Rugby

Pool 5: Dragons Premiership Select v Ealing Trailfinders

Pool 5: Yorkshire Carnegie v Bedford Blues

 

Round 3 – December 9/10/11

 

Pool 1: London Scottish v Jersey Reds

Pool 1: Ulster ‘A’ v Cardiff Blues Premiership Select

Pool 2: London Welsh v Doncaster Knights

Pool 2: Rotherham Titans v Munster ‘A’

Pool 3: London Irish v Cornish Pirates

Pool 3: Connacht Eagles v Ospreys Premiership Select

Pool 4: Nottingham Rugby v Richmond

Pool 4: Leinster ‘A’ v Scarlets Premiership Select

Pool 5: Yorkshire Carnegie v Dragons Premiership Select

Pool 5: Bedford Blues v Ealing Trailfinders

 

Round 4 – December 16/17/18

 

Pool 1: Jersey Reds v London Scottish

Pool 1: Cardiff Blues Premiership Select vUlster ‘A’

Pool 2: Doncaster Knights v London Welsh

Pool 2: Munster A v Rotherham Titans

Pool 3: Cornish Pirates v London Irish

Pool 3: Ospreys Premiership Select v Connacht Eagles

Pool 4: Scarlets Premiership Select v Leinster ‘A’

Pool 4: Richmond v Nottingham Rugby

Pool 5: Dragons Premiership Select v Yorkshire Carnegie

Pool 5: Ealing Trailfinders v Bedford Blues

 

Round 5 – January 13/14/15

 

Pool 1: Ulster ‘A’ v London Scottish

Pool 1: Cardiff Blues Premiership Select v Jersey Reds

Pool 2: Rotherham Titans v London Welsh

Pool 2: Munster A v Doncaster Knights

Pool 3: Connacht Eagles v London Irish

Pool 3: Ospreys Premiership Select v Cornish Pirates

Pool 4: Nottingham Rugby v Leinster ‘A’

Pool 4: Richmond v Scarlets Premiership Select

Pool 5: Bedford Blues v Yorkshire Carnegie

Pool 5: Ealing Trailfinders v Dragons Premiership Select

 

Round 6 – January 20/21/22

 

Pool 1: Jersey Reds v Ulster ‘A’

Pool 1: London Scottish v Cardiff Blues Premiership Select

Pool 2: Doncaster Knights v Rotherham Titans

Pool 2: London Welsh v Munster A

Pool 3: Cornish Pirates v Connacht Eagles

Pool 3: London Irish v Ospreys Premiership Select

Pool 4: Scarlets Premiership Select v Nottingham Rugby

Pool 4: Leinster ‘A’ v Richmond

Pool 5: Dragons Premiership Select v Bedford Blues

Pool 5: Yorkshire Carnegie v Ealing Trailfinders

Quarter-finals: March 10/11/12 Semi-finals: March 31/April 1/April 2 Final: April 22

*NB: All kick-off times and match dates to be confirmed by the clubs. Whilst the Knights will aim to host home games at 14:30 on a Saturday please wait for a further announcement for confirmation.  

2016/17 is set to be a big season for the DC Academy of Sport at Castle Park.

Following a challenging but successful first year the development team look set to progress into the new season with a host of impressive new arrivals and comprehensive fixture list.

The Academy has been back in training for over a week now and, working alongside Knights players Tyson Lewis and Dougie Flockhart, have certainly been put through their paces as DRFC Rugby Development Manager and Academy Head Coach Ants Posa tells us. “We’re really looking forward to the new season; the Academy continues to be a work in progress but we could only have dreamt about being where we are now this time last year when we were starting up.

“This season we have four or five players from the academy who will get the opportunity to do training sessions alongside the Knights which is huge and is getting us closer to our goal of developing home-grown professional rugby players and keeping them at Castle Park.

“Our season officially starts in September but the team have already begun pre-season training here at Castle Park and are doing a lot of fitness and conditioning work as well as starting to implement our systems so hopefully we can hit the ground running.”

All Academy students are enrolled on courses with University Centre Doncaster and for 2016/17 the team will compete against Universities and Colleges in addition to fixtures against other academies.

Ants explains ‘We’re entered in the British Universities and Colleges Sport [BUCS] leagues this season which is fantastic and means we will be in a structured league system. It is looking like we are going to have 33 players signed up this season so we can confidently commit to more fixtures.

“Towards the tail end of the season we will reignite ties with other Championship academies including; Nottingham, Bedford and Moseley but up until Christmas our focus will largely be on the BUCS.”

If you or someone you know might interested in learning more about the DC Academy of Sport contact Russ Horsley – Academy of Sport Manager on – 01302 553972 or email russ.horsley@don.ac.uk. Or to begin your application by filling out our application form. 

You can continue to monitor the academies progress here on www.drfc.co.uk and find them on twitter at @DCAcademySport

Hours: Part Time 

Term: Immediate Start – June 2017

Salary: Work Placement (Some expenses paid)

Location: Castle Park Stadium, Doncaster and other locations within the United Kingdom as required.

 

Job description:

To assist the Lead Performance Analyst and the Doncaster Knights Professional staff/squad in the Greene King IPA Championship and British and Irish Cup by:

 

• Providing pre-game analysis on each weeks opposition, coding previous games for player and coach perusal. Then in conjunction with coaching staff, producing opposition previews/statistics for feedback in team meetings.

 

• Assist in Live Coding and providing feedback during all 1st team fixtures, providing a coded timeline with multiple video angles to coaching staff.

 

• Post-Game analysis of individual and specific areas of team play in line with KPI’s as defined by the Coaching Staff.

 

• Post-Game review analysis to be completed in conjunction with coaching staff for team feedback.

 

• Filming and coding of some team and units training sessions.

 

• Assisting in the operation of GPS equipment providing statistical feedback to support S&C and Medical Staff when required.

 

• Supplying video evidence of injury incidents to medical staff.

 

• Maintaining and updating a database of all statistics and video in the Performance Analysis suite at Castle Park.

 

• Any other duties as agreed with the DOR.

 

Person Specification:

Essential:

         Detailed knowledge of Rugby Union.

         Successfully completed, or currently attaining an Undergraduate Sport Science/Performance Analysis related    degree.

         Undertaken training in the field of performance analysis either within a degree programme, or external course.

         Knowledge and experience in using SportsCode analysis software.

         A broad understanding of Microsoft Office, Apple iWork and IBM SPSS software.

         Strong understanding of Video file formats and conversion tools.

Desirable:

         Previous experience in the use of GPS equipment.

         Coaching/Science related subject.

         Completed RFU coaching/refereeing certificates and CPD.

         Previous experience within performance analysis in a team environment.

To apply, please send a CV and Cover Letter to nathan_s34@hotmail.co.uk the closing date for applications is Friday 29th July, applicants will only be contacted if successful in gaining an interview.