The club are thrilled to announce Joe Ford has progressed to the role of Knights Head Coach ahead of the 2023/24 season as Steve Boden continues as Director of Rugby.

In turn, Tyson Lewis will become Joe’s Assistant Coach for the coming season.

Discussing the appointment, Joe said: “Firstly, I’d like to thank Steve Lloyd, Tony De Mulder and Steve Boden for the opportunity and the backing they’ve given me to do this role.

“I’ve been coaching now for four or five years, so this seemed like the right next step. I’m still a young coach, so I’ve still got a lot to learn, but being in this role should help develop my coaching skills even more.”

Joe originally joined the coaching team as Backs Coach for the Knights in the summer of 2020 from Yorkshire Carnegie. The former fly-half boasted an impressive playing career with Premiership seasons for Northampton Saints, Sale Sharks and Leicester Tigers.

The ex-player has used the experience and tutelage acquired in his playing days in combination with an ever-developing coaching technique to create a strong back-line which can pride itself on good communication channels.

And so, a progression to Head Coach seemed a natural step according to DoR, Steve Boden.

“I think Joe has naturally progressed into the role, especially at the back end of last season, so it does take a load off of me, allowing me to focus on forwards as well as the off field side of things.

“I think we’re lucky as a club to have Joe. First and foremost, I think he’s a cracking guy. Staff trust him, he works extremely hard, he cares about the lads, and I think there’s no better person to lead some of the bigger parts of our game plan.

“It’ll also be great to have Tyson taking a bit more of a concrete role with us whilst still being the head of our Academy – which we can see he’s done a fantastic job with.

“We know who Tyson is, and what he’s done for the club – he’s been a great servant to the Knights. He continues to give high energy, he’s a good guy and so, I can’t speak highly enough of him – I’m really glad to have him.”

An extremely familiar face around Castle Park having amassed 200 professional appearances for the Championship side since arriving from Plymouth Albion in 2012, Tyson Lewis is another valued member of the Knights coaching team.

Retiring as the club’s leading try-scorer in the professional age, Tyson has played a key leadership role in the Doncaster Knights Academy – being integral in ushering a handful of Academy players through into the first team throughout the 2022/23 season for their debut professional appearances.

Tyson is ready to crack on with continuing his role as Head Coach of the Knights Academy alongside his new position with the first team.

“I look at my time at the club with a lot of pride – to see how many players I’ve played with, and how many boys have come through the Knights Academy – so this is just another great challenge.

“So, I look forward to the season ahead and seeing how it goes for the Knights.”

We look forward to seeing what our newly organised coaching set-up can bring to the Knights throughout 2023/24.

There are sponsorship opportunities available for Joe Ford for the 2023/24 season. Please email l.higgins@castle-park.co.uk for more information.

Tyson Lewis will be sponsored by AGM Safety.

We are excited to offer fans the chance to come and meet our new 2023/24 squad at an open training session and Q&A evening on Friday, August 11 at Castle Park.

The event will provide Knights supporters with the perfect opportunity to witness first-hand the squad’s ongoing preparations for the upcoming season.

Gates and the bar will open at 5:30pm before the training session begins on our artificial 3G pitch at 6pm.

Following the finish of the session at 7pm, supporters can make their way to the Arms Park Suite where, at approximately 8pm, our coaches, staff and players will join them for a Q&A section.

There is no cost for tickets, however we do ask that everyone interested in attending confirm their place HERE.

There will be free parking available on-site.

Doncaster Knights are giving fans the chance to bid on, and win, their favourite players’ signed match-worn shirts from the 2022/23 Championship season.

All of the shirts available are listed below, and bids can easily be made HERE.

The auction will officially close at 5pm on Friday, July 14.

The 2022/23 season was a tough one for the Knights as they navigated a new squad and unforeseen injuries, however, they ultimately finished the season sixth in a highly competitive league table having also reached the semi-final of the Championship Cup.

Fans can also still purchase the last remaining items of last season’s merchandise at a great discounted price, on our online shop HERE.

 

Shirts available to bid on:

• #1 – Conor Davidson – home and away
• #2 – George Roberts – home and away
• #3 – Andrew Foster – home and away
• #3 – Karl Garside – away
• #4 – Ehize Ehizode – home
• #5 – Ben Murphy – home and away
• #6 – Evan Mintern – home and away
• #7 – Rhys Tait – away
• #9 – Alex Dolly – home and away
• #10 – Sam Olver – away
• #11 – Maliq Holden – home and away
• #12 – Connor Edwards – home and away
• #13 – Joe Margetts – home
• #13 – Harry Davey – away
• #14 – George Simpson – home and away
• #15 – Billy McBryde – home and away

Castle Park are happy to be hosting a charity match in aid of Firefly on Friday, July 21 between Doncaster Barbarians and Ollerton RUFC.

Firefly are a local Doncaster charity which focus on supporting people with cancer.

The Doncaster Barbarians side will be made up of ex-players, veterans and coaches.

The game will be played on Pitch 4 at Castle Park.

Tickets for the event will cost £5 per adult and £1 per child – with funds going to the charity.

Tickets will be available to purchase at Junior Touch sessions on Wednesday nights at Castle Park from 6-7pm or will be available on the night of the match.

Doncaster Knights are delighted to cement the club’s partnership with TwentyFour IT Services by announcing them as the Knights front of shirt sponsor for the 2023/24 season.

TwentyFour IT Managing Director, Mike Smith, and Chief Technology Officer, Tony Houlihan, are excited to be taking this extra step in continuing the company’s long-standing partnership with the club.

“We have supported the Knights over many years and have grown and evolved as have the team, its ambition for the future and the wonderful facility that is Castle Park.

“As rugby fans, it is a natural partnership that we are delighted to continue.”

TwentyFour IT are experts, providing the best IT services in Doncaster, South Yorkshire and with a growing reach throughout England. The company cover everything from desktop support to cybersecurity services and infrastructure management.

Tailoring their services to suit your needs, they specialise in offering private cloud hosting, Azure, IT helpdesk outsourcing, network audits, and managed cybersecurity services. Their position is – no two businesses are the same, so why should your IT provision be?

Commenting on this new deal, Knights Chairman Tony De Mulder is also looking forward to continuing the business relationship.

“The club’s relationship with TwentyFour IT has gone from strength to strength for more than a decade, therefore, we are extremely pleased to have them be such a crucial part of the Knights commercial family for a further season.

“We hope our two entities will continue to work together as we both look to the future with the determination to achieve success and growth.”

For more information on TwentyFour IT, click HERE.

Castle Park, home of Doncaster Knights, is looking to recruit an experienced Receptionist/Administrator, full-time.

The role is crucial to the business and the successful candidate will be the face of the rugby and events stadium.

The candidate should be able to speak to all customers – from rugby fans to business owners.

Working as part of the events team, the role requires someone who is extremely organised and is willing to work under pressure.

The ability to use Microsoft Office is essential, experience of using an events software is preferable, however, full training will be provided.

The role will be office based at Doncaster Knights Rugby Club, Armthorpe, Doncaster.

Read the full job description HERE.

To apply for this role, please send a copy of your CV and a cover letter to Kerry Young at kyoung@castle-park.co.uk

Please note, there is no closing date for this role and the vacancy will close once the appropriate candidate has been identified.