Doncaster Knights’ loan players at Bury St Edmunds, Will Metcalfe and James Harrison contributed to Bury’s 36-22 derby win against Colchester.
Will Metcalfe earned his start at scrum half and impressed with two tries to assist the Suffolk team to victory. James Harrison, also started in the second row, and has been excelling at Bury, proving a useful asset particularly during the line outs.
Will Metcalfe
The first of Metcalfe’s tries came early on in the game as he snaked through a gap to score a fine individual try. He then claimed his next score in the second half of the game. Bury were awarded a penalty and opted for the scrum, Metcalfe spotted the gap in the defence and carried the ball to the line himself.
We are proud to announce the continued support of sponsorship from CopyPrintScan (CPS).
CopyPrintScan is a leading printer company in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. Up and running in 1998, they have accumulated over 25 years of experience in an ever-present industry. Tailor-making bespoke packages for hundreds of companies in a range of industries such as education, health and sport, with over 1,000 active devices. This season, CPS are continuing their support with the club through their supply of printers, and also appear on the right sleeve of our 150th anniversary kit.
Andrew Thompson, Sales Director, has been at the forefront of negotiations with the club, heading the deal for his company. Andrew shared his delight in the agreement stating how “this is such an important sponsorship deal for us, as we feel the rugby industry is a unique and fairly untapped market with a brilliant community feel. Having been involved with Doncaster Knights for over 5 years, we are proud to be one of the longest standing supporters of such a brilliant and developing club.”
Tom Foy, Head of Commercial, highlighted the significance of the partnership between Doncaster Knights and CopyPrintScan in his comments about the extension of their partnership. “CopyPrintScan has been a long-term supporter of the club, and the decision to extend the sponsorship reflects the mutual trust and success both parties have enjoyed. The relationship has gone beyond just a commercial transaction—it’s become a collaboration that aligns with the club’s vision for growth and development. CopyPrintScan’s brand will continue to have prominent visibility, which is beneficial for both the company and the club, as it helps the Knights maintain a professional image while giving CopyPrintScan significant exposure to rugby fans, digital platforms and its community.”
Doncaster Knights and CopyPrintScan share in the enthusiasm of an ongoing contract and hope that the club’s 2024/25 campaign can be one of success for both parties involved. To learn more about what CopyPrintScan have to offer, you can read more on their website for all your printer needs.
To learn more about the sponsorship opportunities at Doncaster Knights, contact Tracey Owen via email: [email protected]; or via telephone 01302 831388.
Doncaster Knights hope to remain undefeated on the road as they face Bedford Blues on Saturday, October 19th. KO 3.00pm.
It is important to have as full a coach as possible to keep the maximum amount we charge at £30 per supporter!
To reserve a seat please message John Lowe on 079 7711 2706.
You must contact John by Monday, October 14th.
Coach information:
The coach will leave Buckley’s garage in Blaxton at 10.00am and, after pickups in Auckley, Branton, Cantley and Armthorpe it should arrive at Castle Park at around 10.30pm.
From there it will proceed along Balby Road for a pick-up opposite the Winning Post before heading south. If you are leaving your car at the club please leave it on the limestone car park.
The coach will leave Bedford for the return journey at 5.15pm
Doncaster Knights fought hard against reigning champions Ealing Trailfinders to claim the full five points on the road in 35-36 victory.
The Knights opened the scores almost instantly as Rhys Tait showed brilliant strength to carry through Ealing defence and find his way under the posts. Alex Dolly added the extras to give Doncaster the head start.
Rhys Tait opening the scores
The even match in ability between the two squads was reflected in how quickly the hosts answered back. Ealing stretched the ball out to the wing and found the space out wide to score. Their fly half, Jones added the extras to level the scores early on.
Doncaster initially had dominance at scrum time and a scrum penalty allowed Alex Dolly to claim three points. Shortly after, Dolly added another three thanks to a turnover at the breakdown by Tait.
Ealing then spent a while within the 22, they struggled to get the ball over the line from the rolling maul so opted to ship to the backline. Centre, Colgate managed to dart through and score. Jones added the extras.
Jordan Olowofela didn’t allow Ealing to keep the lead for too long as he received a well delayed pass from Morgan Bunting, which opened the gap for Olowofela to work his magic. Dolly secured another conversion.
Ealing clawed back another try as they appeared to set up for a kick into touch following a penalty. However, they opted to quick tap and attack a gap on the wing. Jones converted to put them in front again.
Doncaster’s scrum continued to dominate as another scrum penalty meant Dolly could secure another three points.
Ealing’s rolling maul proved to be more successful on this occasion as their hooker broke over the line. However a missed conversion meant the scores remianed within three (26-23).
Olowofela gave Doncaster the edge heading into half time. The Knights were playing a penalty advantage so Connor Edwards risked a grubber kick through Ealing’s defence, Olowofela outpaced Ealing and collected the ball over the line.
Half time score 26-28.
It was the men in green who claimed the first points of the second half as they gained three from a penalty. They continue to push at Doncaster’s defence but the Knights showed fantastic work rate to turn over the ball at a driving maul.
Bunting read Ealing’s defence well and chose to carry up the pitch as he spotted a gap. This put Doncaster in a good position for Dolly to kick for another three.
As tensions rose, Doncaster’s discipline slipped and they conceded two penalties in quick succession meaning Ealing regained the lead again.
However, the Knights recomposed themselves and Olowofela claimed his second hat-trick of the season to snatch the final score of the game. Connor Edwards popped the ball to Semesa Rokoduguni out on the wing. Roko then sent it to Wacokecoke. Wacokecoke offloaded back inside to Olowofela, who jumped out of a tackle to carry the ball over the line.
It was a nail-biting final few moments as Doncaster were defending on their try line. But they applied great pressure and a knock on at the breakdown meant they regained possession to secure the win.
Final score Ealing 35, Doncaster 36.
The Knights are back at Castle Park next week to face London Scottish. You can secure your tickets here!
Doncaster Knights have named their squad for the first away trip of the Championship season. Round three sees the Knights face Ealing Trailfinders away.
With a few changes to this weeks starting line up, Lewis Thiede replaces Logovi’i Mulipola in the front row due to Mulipola picking up calf injury during the Nottingham game. Conor Davidson and George Roberts remain 1 and 2. Fred Davies is still the replacement hooker with front row replacements Joe Jones and Jasper McGuire.
Cory Teague earns his first start moving Thom Smith to the back row. Teague will be part of a second row pairing with captain, Ben Murphy. While Smith is joined in the back row by Rhys Tait and Morgan Strong.
Josh Williams, Archie Smeaton and Arthur Green are the other forwards amongst the replacements.
The backline remains exactly the same as last week, Alex Dolly and Morgan Bunting as half backs, Connor Edwards and Zach Kerr in the centre and Maliq Holden, Semesa Rokoduguni and Jordan Olowofela at back three. The two replacements, Ollie Fox and George Wacokecoke also staying the same.
Starting XV | 15, Jordan Olowofela. 14, Semesa Rokoduguni. 13, Zach Kerr. 12, Connor Edwards. 11, Maliq Holden. 10, Morgan Bunting. 9, Alex Dolly. 1, Conor Davidson. 2, George Roberts. 3, Lewis Thiede. 4, Ben Murphy (C). 5, Cory Teague. 6, Thom Smith. 7, Rhys Tait. 8, Morgan Strong.
Replacements | 16, Fred Davies. 17, Joe Jones. 18, Jasper McGuire. 19, Josh Williams. 20, Archie Smeaton. 21, Arthur Green. 22, Ollie Fox. 23, George Wacokecoke.
Morgan Bunting joined Doncaster Knights this season, but his name is no stranger at Castle Park because his Dad, Simon Bunting has 96 caps for the Knights.
Morgan explained how he has settled into Castle Park: “I’ve really loved it here. It’s quite close to home, so it’s a pretty big deal for me to come into a club like this.
“Obviously, with being a new player, settling in can always be a little bit difficult, but now there’s such a big group that have come together, it’s been pretty easy to integrate into the squad with the lads that were already here.”
The fly-half said he and his family are “very proud” to have joined his Dad’s former club, “I’ve always looked up to my dad. It’s massive to come to a club he was a part of and successful at.
“It’s a club that I remember a lot from growing up. I remember being four or five years old and spending a lot of time at this club. So it’s a big deal for me to come here.”
At the weekend, The Knights suffered their first defeat of the season to Bunting’s former club, Nottingham. He reflected on the performance: “I think just the harsh reality is we probably weren’t good enough on the day. There’s a lot of pride and aspiration in the group, and I think we all let ourselves down a little bit.
“But, when you look back at the game, there were some positives to take away from it. I feel we spent a lot of time in the Nottingham half, credit to them, they defended. But if you play that game again, I feel like we know now what to do to come away with points and turn that pressure into points.”
Bunting said: “It was strange to play against Nottingham, but good to see a lot of the lads, I do have a lot of close friends there so it was good to see them.”
The Knights are heading into a very important game this weekend, against current Championship winners, Ealing Trailfinders.
Bunting said: “We had a tough Monday review, worked out what we need to do and I think we are all focused towards the next challenge, which is going away to reigning champions Ealing. There is no bigger test really at the minute. We’re just taking it week by week.”
“There’s always some additional little challenges with away games. Obviously the travel can affect you, but I feel at this level you have to go to a lot of different places, so I think it’s more just getting used to having two games at home then being on the road. We will see how we react to that.”
