Month: September 2019

First TOSSERS’ lunch of the season

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The first TOSSERS’ lunch of the season is upon us and will be on Saturday 19th October when the valiant Knights do battle against the Pirates of Penzance. 

The meal will consist of the mandatory Cow Pie with chips and mushy peas followed by a cheese board.

All those who enjoy great food and good company are welcome to join the lunch, along with all their family and friends.

The price for this feast is £16 (not including match day ticket) and with dining beginning at 12.30.

Tickets are now on sale for this Knights tradition and can be purchased from reception or by calling 01302 831388.

Lunch starts at 12.30 followed by the opening home Championship fixture between Doncaster Knights vs Cornish Pirates with kick off at 14:30.

Falcons Reaction | Tom Hicks ‘really disappointed with the result.’

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The Knights succumbed to a dominant display from Newcastle Falcons today with the former Premiership team earning a 57-0 victory.

Four first half-tries were followed by five after the break, despite Doncaster’s best effort to put some points on the board, the Knights left frustrated that they were left unrewarded for their endeavours.

Tom Hicks played his first competitive game of the season for the Knights and was unhappy with the score line.

“It is tough to put into words really about the performance, obviously we are really disappointed with the result. I think the effort was there in patches, but against a team like Newcastle you give them even a slight chance they’re going to take it every time.”

We put plenty of effort in, it was said after the game that the boys did work hard it is just the fine margins that went in their favour, which is something to work on for next week.

On Saturday the Knights welcome Jersey Reds to Castle Park in the last round of the RFU Championship Cup before the league gets underway; the 27-year-old is keen to bounce back from the result against the Falcons.

“You always focus on your next game after a defeat, it is about putting the result to bed, working hard during the week and watching what we need to improve on from today.

It is a home game next week, we are one from one, our aim is to make that two from two.”

The Knights succumbed to a dominant display from Newcastle Falcons today with the former Premiership team earning a 57-0 victory.

Four first half-tries were followed by five after the break, despite Doncaster’s best effort to put some points on the board, the Knights left frustrated that they were left unrewarded for their endeavours.

Tom Hicks played his first competitive game of the season for the Knights and was unhappy with the score line.

“It is tough to put into words really about the performance, obviously we are really disappointed with the result. I think the effort was there in patches, but against a team like Newcastle you give them even a slight chance they’re going to take it every time.”

We put plenty of effort in, it was said after the game that the boys did work hard it is just the fine margins that went in their favour, which is something to work on for next week.

On Saturday the Knights welcome Jersey Reds to Castle Park in the last round of the RFU Championship Cup before the league gets underway; the 27-year-old is keen to bounce back from the result against the Falcons.

“You always focus on your next game after a defeat, it is about putting the result to bed, working hard during the week and watching what we need to improve on from today.

It is a home game next week, we are one from one, our aim is to make that two from two.”

Knights endure cup defeat to Newcastle Falcons

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Doncaster suffered a ruthless 57-0 defeat to former Premiership outfit Newcastle Falcons this afternoon.  

The Falcons attacking display was limited to dotting down on four occasions in the first half, but showed their dominance after the interval as they scored a further five tries.

The cup clash started in a scrappy fashion with neither side able to take control of the game. However, the first real sign of danger from Newcastle resulted in the opening score of the afternoon. Quick hands from England International Toby Flood, allowed Tom Arscott time to play a grubber kick through for Adam Radwan to slide over in the corner to put the home side ahead.

Despite some good turnovers and defence from the Knights, the away side were unable to make the most of their attacking position with the Falcons striking again on the 18th minute. Radwan wrestled away from contact and sprinted 60 metres to score in the corner; Flood missing his second consecutive conversion to limit the damage to the visitors.

The former Premiership team added two further tries within a seven-minute period both from close range through Jamie Blamire and Rodney Ah You.

Donny ended the half in a positive fashion as they began to go up the gears into the Newcastle 22, but couldn’t get any points on the board before the half ended.

Even though the visitors went into the break in a positive manner, it was the home side that came out firing at the beginning of the second half.

Three quick-fire tries inside the opening 13 minutes gave the Falcons a comfortable lead. The pick of the three from Wacokecoke, the centre receiving the ball inside the Donny 22 at pace and bouncing off two tackles to dot down.

Doncaster looked to fightback and put their first points on the board, but were up against a strong, resilient Newcastle defence that made very few mistakes all game.

The home side ended the match still looking for more points and with gaps in the Doncaster defence there to exploit, they did so. Two tries in the last five minutes, despite the best efforts of the Knights, demonstrated the dominance of the Falcons throughout the game.

Newcastle Falcons XV: 15. Arscott 14. Radwan 13. Stevenson 12. Wacokecoke 11. Sinoti 10. Flood 9. Stuart 1. Brocklebank 2. Blamire 3. Ah You 4. Chaves 5. Robinson © 6. Graham 7. Hardie 8. Chick

Replacements: 16. Cooper 17. Lockwood 18. Davison 19. Salmon 20. Uzokwe 21. Hodgson 22. Connon 23. Tait

Tries: Radwan 2, Blamire 2, Ah You, Robinson, Wacokecoke, Cooper, Chick

Conversions: Flood 4, Connon 2

Knights XV: 15. Hayes 14. Wilson 13. Evans 12. Lucock(43’Olver) 11. Lewis 10. Foley 9. Cullen(62’Pocklington) 1. Thomas(49’Hislop(62’Thomas) 2. Edgson(49’Holling) 3. Foster(49’Beech) 4. Hicks 5. Smith © 6. Eames(40’Sproston) 7. Jones(20’Birch(48’Challinor) 8. Pitman

Replacements: 16. Holling 17. Hislop 18. Beech 19. Challinor 20. Sproston 21. Pocklington 22. Olver 23. Birch

Attendance: 3,577

DKTV | Francis Cummins looking for improvement in Falcons test

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Francis Cummins is looking for an improvement in the performance from the Knights for their trip to Falcons.

The Knights secured a victory in the opening game of the season by beating Hartpury 44-22, although the backs coach is now looking for a step up in the display for the game on Sunday.

“We have got to go there and not be fearful by playing an ex-Premiership team, we have got to just improve from last week that is the main thing.”

The 42-year-old was pleased with the victory and saw plenty of positives to take from the game.

“There were definitely positives from the performance, we maybe made hard work of it as we lost our shape at times, but fair play to Hartpury they scored some good tries and got stuck in.

There was some good handling on the edge, we just want to see more the Doncaster team that is training, they are training really well and defending really well.”

You can watch more interviews, post-match reaction and highlights by subscribing to our DKTV YouTube Channel today!

 

 

TEAM NEWS | Knights shuffle the pack for Falcons trip

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The Knights travel north to face Newcastle Falcons in the second RFU Championship Cup fixture on Sunday 29th September, 3pm kick off.

Both sides started the season with victories; the Knights defeating Hartpury 44-22, while the Falcons left the Channel Islands after a 21-8 win over Jersey Reds.

The relegated Premiership side fielded a side containing four Internationals in that victory with both tries coming from replacement centre George Wacokecoke.

Doncaster will travel on the back of four straight victories over pre-season and last week’s win over Hartpury.

Jack Roberts, Cameron Cowell and Dougie Flockhart remain injured, while Tom Calladine has returned to training following an ankle injury. Ollie Stedman is unavailable after receiving a citing ban in the season opening win with the flanker up for selection again in the Knights game with Cornish Pirates on the 19th October 2019.

The front row of Charlie Beech, George Edgson and Marc Thomas all come into the starting side for the trip north. Morgan Eames, who scored the final try last week earns a starting place, while Kyle Evans is in the XV for the first time. Reiss Cullen is also set to make his competitive debut for the Knights.

Amongst the replacements, Will Holling, Tom Hicks, Joe Sproston and Sale Sharks’ dual registered Rouban Birch make their way onto the bench for the first time this season.

Knights XV: 15. Lloyd Hayes 14. Curtis Wilson 13. Kyle Evans 12. Pete Lucock 11. Tyson Lewis 10. Sam Olver 9. Reiss Cullen 1. Marc Thomas 2. George Edgson 3. Charlie Beech 4. Morgan Eames 5. Matt Smith 6. Sam Jones 7. Michael Hills © 8. Rory Pitman

Replacements: 16. Will Holling 17. Andy Foster 18. Joe Sproston 19. Tom Hicks 20. Rouban Birch 21. Sam Pocklington 22. Charlie Foley 23. Robin Hislop 

DKTV | Matt Smith delighted with his first try and win of the season

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Matt Smith scored his first try for the Knights during an important second half spell that secured an opening victory of the season.

Doncaster defeated Hartpury 44-22 in the first RFU Championship Cup fixture with the second-row dotting down the fifth try for the home side.

The forward is now looking ahead to facing relegated Premiership side Newcastle Falcons in another tough test for the Knights.

“Everyone knows what to expect, they have a good squad, we just need to have that desire, we are not going to lay down.

We need to go there and put a good performance in and who knows what could happen we may get the result.”

You can watch interviews, post-match reaction and highlights by subscribing to our DKTV YouTube Channel: https://bit.ly/2mIeZUw

We wish Kurt Morath a speedy recovery

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We wish Kurt Morath a speedy recovery after the fly-half left the field injured for Tonga in their opening World Cup fixture with England.

On 49 minutes, the record points scorer for the Pacific Island country had to leave the field after receiving a boot to his larynx (throat).

The 35-year-old has been ruled out of the rest of the tournament and has played in every World Cup game for his country since 2011 as well as being is the leading scorer for Tonga at the competition with 73 points.

We look forward to having Kurt back in Doncaster colours soon!

Kendo happy with Phoenix performance after first win

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Doncaster Phoenix secured their first win of 2019/20 campaign with an emphatic away victory.

Three quick-fire tries in the 30 minutes earned the visitors a 26-7 lead at the interval, before a James Wright hat-trick late on secured the 53-19 win.

Glen Kenworthy was pleased to finally get a win after some positive performances this season. 

“We have been quite close in our previous games, especially against the Paviors, but it was nice to get the five points on the road and lift us up the table.”

“It has been a solid week, the boys trained with the BUCS group on Tuesday night and Thursday was a tough session as well, it was pleasing to see what we trained during the week was put onto the pitch for 60 minutes of the game and we scored some really, really nice tries.”

This week the side travel to Cheshire to face fifth placed Sandbach, with Kendo hopeful of a good performance.

“It is an element of the unknown facing them, it is still early in the season and teams are finding their feet and we are one of them, we are optimistic though.

It is our third week on the road and we will travel down there and try play the normal Doncaster Phoenix way and try come away with something.”  

Welch Design to sponsor Sam Olver for this season

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The club are delighted to announce that Welch Design will continue their commercial partnership with the Knights.

The company, owned by Steve Welch, has been involved with the club for a number of seasons and previously sponsored Declan Cusack when the Knights reached the Championship play-off final.

‘’I have spent many years at the club, firstly playing in the mini junior section with my good friend David White some 46 years ago, then senior rugby and down here with my children, returning to the minis as a coach. I like the way the club has developed under Steve Lloyd and Tony De Mulder and how it is a real community club for all levels.  Along with the many other sponsors, a great deal of pride is gained helping to support the club.”

This season, Steve has chosen to sponsor ex Premiership and England U20s player Sam Olver.

“Sam has huge potential in the club, he is young and will hopefully spend a few years at Castle Park, I like the way he plays, throwing the ball around and is a good attacking player. I like to see entertaining rugby and hopefully he can help provide that to watch.”

Welch Design are Chartered Landscape Architects, nearly 25 years old and offer a full range of services including landscape planning & design, project management, landscape maintenance and tree surveying. For more information go to https://welchdesign.co.uk/.

Commercial Manager Michael Casey was delighted to have Welch Design continue their partnership with the club.

“Welch Design have been a loyal partner of Doncaster Knights for several seasons & remain a fantastic supporter of the Club and our endeavours. Steve is passionate about rugby and local sport and a popular character at Castle Park. I would like to thank Welch Design for their continued support and look forward to working together again this season.”

REACTION | Pete Lucock pleased with attacking display

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The Knights began the season with an impressive 44-22 victory over Hartpury in the RFU Championship Cup game.

Summer signing Pete Lucock scored after just 21 seconds, when Sam Jones charged down a kick and offloaded to the centre to dot down. The 26-year-old couldn’t quite believe his luck.

“I don’t think I have scored an easier try as well, all credit to Jonesy he is like a machine and has gone and has made that extra effort to charge down the kick and we have got the rewards for it straight away.”

Pete praised the attacking display from the Knights, but believes there is still more to come.

“I think we conservative in the middle patches of the game, which brought them back into it but I think we showed when we play with some adventure and what we have been working on pre-season then they couldn’t really keep up with us.”

 Next week Doncaster face Newcastle Falcons at Kingston Park for a 3pm kick off, you can support the Knights by booking on the supporters’ coach. Simply text John Lowe on 07977 112706 to book your place.

 

Academy home kick off times confirmed for this season

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The Academy were promoted three leagues to the BUCS Northern 1A after an independent assessment, their opposition and the kick off times have now been confirmed for this season.

Head Coach Tyson Lewis will have to prepare his side to face Keele 1st, Liverpool 1st, Newcastle 2nd Northumbria 2nd, Durham 3rd and Durham 4th as the Academy look to build on last season’s success. 

02/10/2019 4PM KO

League

Men’s Northern Tier 1 

Doncaster Men’s 1

Liverpool Men’s 1

16/10/2019

League

Men’s Northern Tier 1

Keele Men’s 1

Doncaster Men’s 1

30/10/2019 6.30PM KO

League

Men’s Northern Tier 1

Doncaster Men’s 1

Durham Men’s 3

06/11/2019

League

Men’s Northern Tier 1

Durham Men’s 4

Doncaster Men’s 1

13/11/2019 6.30PM KO

League

Men’s Northern Tier 1

Doncaster Men’s 1

Northumbria Men’s 2

27/11/2019

League

Men’s Northern Tier 1

Newcastle Men’s 2

Doncaster Men’s 1

04/12/2019

League

Men’s Northern Tier 1

Liverpool Men’s 1

Doncaster Men’s 1

22/01/2020 6.30PM KO 

League

Men’s Northern Tier 1

Doncaster Men’s 1

Keele Men’s 1

29/01/2020

League

Men’s Northern Tier 1

Durham Men’s 3

Doncaster Men’s 1

12/02/2020 6.30 PM KO

League

Men’s Northern Tier 1

Doncaster Men’s 1

Durham Men’s 4

26/02/2020

League

Men’s Northern Tier 1

Northumbria Men’s 2

Doncaster Men’s 1

11/03/2020 6.30PM KO 

League

Men’s Northern Tier 1

Doncaster Men’s 1

Newcastle Men’s 2

Cup Fixtures:

23/10/2019   Birmingham Men’s 2 (H) 6.30PM KO 

 *Supporters will be made aware of any kick off changes a few days before the game

Academy Head Coach Tyson Lewis is aiming for similar standards that has brought success over the last three seasons to the side, during the 2019/20 campaign.

“We want to see more of how we performed last season, we want to go and play good rugby against good teams, but we want to be smart and clinical in the way we play.

If we stick to the processes that we’ve been hammering home and talking about for the last couple of weeks the wins will take care of themselves.

It all about the process and making sure we deliver against tougher opposition, making sure our starting positions are good, execute our skill sets and then we should be good.”

The majority of the home Academy fixtures will kick off at 6.30pm allowing for students and Doncaster fans to watch. A decision Tyson is very happy with and hopes his outfit can make the most of.

“I think it will help get the community involved and get the student base behind the boys and create an atmosphere when the boys play.

Equally it means the first team pitch is played on and that will be a big experience, a lot of them have the aspiration to reach the first team so it is an opportunity to perform and showcase their skill set on a bigger stage.”