It was a fantastic display of Championship Rugby at Castle Park as the Knights ended the year with a 38-22, bonus point win. 

An early penalty set us on the front foot to begin with, however, a penalty and a try in quick succession from Hartpury meant the Knights were trailing early on. 

A Doncaster yellow card opened up the space for Hartpury to score their first try as they shipped the ball out to the wing and scored from the overlap. 

However, the Knights continued to snatch points at every opportunity, with Russell Bennett kicking a second penalty to close the scores. He then followed this up with an exceptional 50:22, which instantly led to a try from the Knights. 

From the line out, the Knights distributed the ball quickly down the line and a pop back inside from Jordan Olowofela allowed Telusa Veainu to dance his way over the whitewash. 

It wasn’t long until Donny extended their lead through Thom Smith. George Wacokecoke threw a sneaky offload out the back to Smith and Smith displayed the step of a back to open up the gap and stretch over the line. 

The half time score was 16-8. 

Arthur Green then opened the second half with a big crowd pleaser. Ollie Fox picked the ball from the breakdown and carried into space, before shipping the ball across to Green. Green showed incredible footwork to stump Hartpury’s full back and finish under the posts. Bennett added the extras. 

Olowofela then followed it up with a bit of his magic to score an outstanding try. He carried hard to break through Hartpury’s defence and danced his way round bodies before diving over the line. 

Veainu was shown a yellow for a high tackle and Hartpury exploited the overlap yet again. Their full back claimed a second score as the visitors shipped the ball out to the wing. They also added the extra two. 

The Knights answered back almost immediately as a hard carry from Olowofela opened up the space for Connor Edwards to receive the ball and go the rest of the way.

Doncaster continued to move the ball at immense speed and Olowofela’s second try of the afternoon came as a result of this. In a matter of seconds, the ball had moved between half a dozen hands, before reaching Olowofela, who dove over in the corner.

Hartpury spent the remaining ten minutes with almost all the possession, however Doncaster defended brilliantly. It was only on the 80th minute that Hartpury managed to snatch one final score, as their forwards eventually powered over. They added the conversion to finish the game 38-22.

The Knights don’t return to Castle Park until February 1st when we face Newcastle Falcons in the Premiership Cup!

You can secure your ticket to this fixture HERE!

All the important information for Sunday’s game!

• Doncaster Knights v Hartpury
• 14:30 PM Kick-Off
• Sunday 29th December
• Castle Park

Turnstiles open from 12:00!

Getting to the ground: 

We would advise allowing extra travel time to get to the game as there is Doncaster Races on at the nearby racecourse. 

Tickets: 

Tickets for the fixture are cheaper when purchased online, however can be bought from the ticket window on the day. 

The ticket window is located around the back of the Lloyd De Mulder stand.

U16s tickets are FREE but they must still get a ticket to get through the turnstiles. 

Turnstiles: 

We have now added turnstiles to the ground allowing easier and quicker match day access! It is as simple as scanning your ticket at the gate to trigger entry through the turnstile!

We have worked with the engineers to speed up the function of the turnstiles. To help with a smooth entry to the ground, where possible, please distribute e-tickets so that each fan has their own ticket on their own device. If this is not possible – please can the ticket holder scan everyone through before entering the ground last.

Parking:

Parking is available on site and operates on a first come, first serve basis. 

Parking is also available for £3 at Outwood Academy Danum, which is just a short walk away from the ground.

Food and Drink: 

We will have a variety of Food and Drink options available on match day. All bars will be open! 

Our famous Cow Pie will be available at the Knights Fayre, along with a selection of other hot food. You can also purchase pasties and hot drinks at the end of the concourse bar.

CAM Coffee will be on site for hot drinks and you can purchase your sweet treats from the sweet van!

Live Sport: 

We will be showing the following games in the concourse:

• Exeter v Gloucester

Club Shop:

Club shop will be open from 12! 

Joe Ford and Sir Ian McGeechan have named their squad to face Hartpury in round ten on Sunday.

Logovi’i Mulipola joins Joe Jones in the starting front row, with Fred Davies moving in to starting hooker. Prop, Lewis Thiede returns from injury to join Andrew Turner on the bench. George Roberts is the hooker amongst the replacements. 

Our second row remains unchanged, with Ben Murphy and Adam Hopkinson. In the back row, Arthur Green starts at eight, flanked by Thom Smith and Rhys Tait. Archie Smeaton, Josh Williams and Morgan Strong are all on the bench. 

Scrum Half, Ollie Fox comes in to join Russell Bennett at fly half, with Alex Dolly in the replacements. George Wacokecoke slots back in to the centres with Connor Edwards and the back three is made up of Telusa Veainu, Jordan Olowofela and Maliq Holden. Zach Kerr is our other back replacement.

Starting XV | 15, Telusa Veainu. 14, Jordan Olowofela. 13, George Wacokecoke. 12, Connor Edwards. 11, Maliq Holden. 10, Russell Bennett. 9, Ollie Fox. 1, Logovi’i Mulipola. 2, Fred Davies. 3, Joe Jones. 4, Ben Murphy (C). 5, Adam Hopkinson. 6, Thom Smith . 7, Rhys Tait. 8, Arthur Green.

Replacements | 16, George Roberts. 17, Andrew Turner. 18, Lewis Thiede. 19, Josh Williams. 20, Archie Smeaton. 21, Arthur Green. 22, Alex Dolly. 23, Zach Kerr. 

Unavailable for selection due to injury: Cory Teague, Conor Davidson, Semesa Rokoduguni

 

A big thank you for the support so far…

As we have so often done in the past the club is helping to support a local charity – in this case Mind Doncaster.

Players, staff, volunteers and supporters have been working hard to raise funds in various ways to support the Doncaster based mental health charity, who like the club devote their time to supporting the local community.

There have been collections, raffles, cake and kit sales to name but a few of the activities that have taken place, with more to come in the second half of the season.

Club Chairman Dave Thomas said “We have historically always supported local concerns and charities – and we felt that in the present climate Mind Doncaster was a perfect fit as our club charity for season 2024/25”

He added ” We are working closely with the staff from Mind this season to raise both profile and much needed cash to support their work in the local area”

Both Phoenix and Demons match playing shirts feature the Mind Doncaster logo this season and early season efforts have already seen over £1600 raised and donated with more to come.

Anne Symon, Chair of Mind Doncaster joined us at our Christmas Lunch earlier in December and said “What a fantastic community you’ve got here at Castle Park. We feel really welcome to be involved with the club. Thank you all for the very generous donations so far and the praise you have given to our team. I’ve made sure that’s been fed back and that the CEO is aware, I feel really proud!

Doncaster Mind prides itself on helping the community of Doncaster with its mental health, which is why we are so pleased to work with Doncaster Phoenix, a community rugby club.”

For more information on the charity visit – www.doncastermind.org.uk

Doncaster Knights just missed out on a come back as they faced Cornish Pirates in round nine of the Championship. 

The first half was a game of constant set piece as windy conditions caused both teams to make errors. It was a tight and well contested battle in the first 40, with both sides working extremely hard in defence.

Despite Doncaster having most the first half possession, Cornish Pirates managed to steal one try before the break through Arthur Relton. They stretched the ball out wide, which allowed Matt McNab to make a break, before popping back inside to Relton. Bruce Houston added the extras, 

The Knights displayed some really good phases in attack but conditions and handling errors meant the half time score was 7-0. 

Pirates opened the scores in the second half as their forwards drove over the line following a series of pick and go’s. The conversion was missed. 

They gained another in quick succession as, again, Cornish moved the ball between the backs and a pop back inside to their scrum half saw him go over between the sticks. They added the extras making it 19-0. 

Doncaster work their way up the field and captain, Ben Murphy showed his strength to dive over the line. Bennett added the extras and the Knights lit up. 

Bennett made a break into space and his offload hit a Pirates player, but Arthur Green swept up the ball and drew in the final defender. Green then shipped it out to Maliq Holden, who finished under the posts. Bennett added the extra two. 

Full time score, Pirates 19-14 Knights. 

Doncaster Knight return to Castle Park next week as we face Hartpury on SUNDAY 29th. 

GET TICKETS! 

 

 

 

 

Doncaster Knights can confirm that we have now submitted an appeal regarding the result of the Championship Round 7 fixture against Chinnor. 

Last week the RFU statement regarding the outcome was: “The RFU Disputes committee met, and the decision was made that the result of the Championship Round 7 fixture, Chinnor v Doncaster Knights, will stand.

The match was abandoned in the 68th minute due to floodlight failure, with Chinnor leading 18-13. The match result will be recorded as Chinnor 18-13 Doncaster Knights.”

Doncaster Knights will communicate the outcome of our appeal as soon as we can. 

 

Adam Hopkinson made his return from injury at Saturday’s fixture against Caldy. The second row had been out since pre season with a broken hand. 

Hopkinson said: “It wasn’t a struggle but it was a surprise more than anything. I was out for pretty much four months and at the start I was officially named on the bench. But then I went to starting and was only meant to play 40, so I had to pretty much dig in as much as possible.”

It was certainly a test but once I got into it, it was just flowing and came like second nature again. So, it was great to be back out, especially at home.”

Despite his injury, Hopkinson has been in and around the club during his rehab. “It was hard to be honest, I was always in with the squad, but I was never really training with them. I was always just kind of sectioned off doing rehab. So, it was nice to always get that encouragement from the lads and also see how hard there’re working. It was good to be able to give that encouragement back when the weekends came around.”

Hopkinson’s first game back post injury was a successful 22-0 home win. He reflected on the game: “I think it was a good one, like you said, a wins a win. To be able to nill any team in this league, you’ve got to have put in a good effort for that.”

“We came out on that first half and we nailed our roles, I think in the second half we just were defending, we didn’t really see the ball, it’s hard to score when you don’t see the ball. But, to keep them out for the full eighty, fair play to us.” 

The Knights are travelling to Cornwall this weekend for round nine. He said: “I don’t think we’ve really focused on pirates that much. We’ve just kind of been backing our own drills, making sure we get our own detail right. You know, when we’re on the ball, we can we can beat anyone in this league. So, it’s been about putting ourselves in the best position to be able to go and do that, really.”

The team are anticipating tricky conditions down by the coast, “we’ve been looking at the weather because it doesn’t look great down there. We’ve had to adjust some things, but we need to be clinical more than anything.” 

Hopkinson is one of the Knights Academy graduates in the first team squad. He discussed how coming through the academy helped prepare him for championship challenges like Cornwall away. 

“It was massive for me, I kind of got my break really randomly, I wasn’t;t even with the first team. So, the academy being so close to the first team, it was good.”

“But one of the biggest things what helped me was the fact that Tyson also played in my first match, so to have that familiar face, it was it was nice to be able to look round and have that familiar head.”

The Knights return to Castle Park after Christmas to face Hartpury in round ten (Sunday 29th December). You can secure tickets to this fixture here

David Senior, who played for and captained Doncaster during their meteoric rise through the English rugby union ranks in the late 90s and early 2000s, has written Peredur, The Undiscovered Truth of the Nazi Grail Quest

The book, being published by Barnsley-based Pen & Sword Books this week,  details the life and adventures of Otto Rahn, the man tasked by the Nazis to find the Holy Grail in the 1930’s and the inspiration for the fictional movie character Indiana Jones

As well as detailing Rahn’s quest, the novel also examines the life of Peredur, a British knight hailing from York and the true hero of the Grail story.

Harlington-born Dave, who was brought up within sight of Conisbrough Castle and as a child recalls seeing re-enactments of knights jousting taking place there, has always been interested in local history.

“I remember being told the the ‘cat and man’ legend of Barnburgh Church with Sir Percival Cresacre allegedly being knocked off his horse, by a ferocious wild cat, while riding back from Doncaster on his return from the Crusades, then boldly fighting it off while retreating to the church and finally killing the cat by trapping it in the church door with his foot before taking his final breath and dying of his wounds, sustained in the fight with the cat, ‘’ recalled the former history teacher.

“Being told about this legend at junior school fuelled the flame of interest I had in history as a boy.’’

As well as playing over 100 times for Doncaster during their rise to the upper echelons of the English rugby union world, David also coached Doncaster Phoenix to reach Twickenham in the national Junior Vase Final in 2008.

His written labour of love has taken around ten years to complete, in spells balancing professional and family commitments and also taking on a few sporting challenges along the way and included researching the original journals written by Rahn, the adventurer employed by the Nazis.

And as he explained, the story has specific connections to South Yorkshire.

“ The hero of the original Grail Story, Peredur, came from York and the original Grail Story is very likely set in the ancient British Kingdom of Elmet of which, what is now South Yorkshire, was once part, ‘’ he added

“ The struggle for the soul of the nation central to the Grail Story, between Christianity and native paganism is highlighted by local geographical nomenclature. The River Don and Ludwell Hill near Barnburgh, are both derived from the names of British pagan gods, whereas St Helen’s Lane in  the same vicinity is strongly linked to early British and in particular Yorkshire’s conversion to Christianity. ‘’

And how did he come to write the book?

He explains: “ Whilst at Barnburgh junior school we had to give a ‘talk’ on a subject of our choice to the other pupils in our class. Having an interest in history, I gave one on a local legend contained in a journal, kept in the old Mexborough library. The legend told of a battle between the Romans led by a man named Ambrosius  and the Saxons led by Hengist, taking place in the fields near to where I lived.

“ Years later, when employed as a teacher, and put I charge of the school  history curriculum, I hit upon the name of Hengist as being the leader of the first Saxons coming to Britain and remembered this from my ‘talk’ all those years before. Further delving led to the finding that Ambrosius was a candidate for being the real ‘King Arthur’. This was the catalyst for what became a bit of an obsession in researching local history in the Arthurian period. As part of this research I stumbled upon the tale of ‘Peredur, the son of Evrauc’ and its connection to the Holy Grail.

“ Around the same time I happened to watch a TV documentary which mentioned that the Nazis had mounted a search for the Holy Grail, in the years prior to the second world war, and I was  curious to see if the two were connected. This spawned the beginnings of the book.”

And is he an Indiana Jones fan?

“ In short yes. Raiders of the Lost Ark came out when I was aged 11and I went to see it at the cinema. My favourite two Indiana Jones films are Raiders of Lost Ark and the Last Crusade. The all action adventure hero,  in films made with a tongue in cheek sense of humour, appealed to me as a boy and still does.’

For more details contact: Pen & Sword Books Ltd Olivia Camozzi, 47 Church Street, Barnsley, South Yorkshire, S70 2AS Tel: +44 01226 734222. Website: www.pen-and-sword.co.uk Email: marketingps@pen-and-sword.co.uk

 

Doncaster Knights travel down to the other end of the country this weekend as they are set to face Cornish Pirates in round nine of the Championship.

The Yorkshire side are sticking with the same front and second row. Andrew Turner and Joe Jones accompany George Roberts, with Ben Murphy and Adam Hopkinson in the engine room. Logovi’i Mulipola, Jasper McGuire and Fred Davies make up the front row replacements. 

Rhys Tait returns from Scotland duty to slot back into his number 7 shirt, with Thom Smith at 6 and Morgan Strong at 8. Meaning Arthur Green shifts back to the bench, with forwards, Archie Smeaton and Josh Williams. 

Our half backs remain unchanged again, Alex Dolly at scrum half and Russell Bennett at fly half. Zach Kerr slots back in to the centres with Connor Edwards and Maliq Holden joins the back three alongside Telusa Veainu and Semesa Rokoduguni. With the Knights opting for a 6/2 spilt on the bench, Ollie Fox and Will Parry are the replacement backs.

Starting XV | 15, Telusa Veainu. 14, Semesa Rokoduguni. 13, George Wacokecoke. 12, Connor Edwards. 11, Maliq Holden. 10, Russell Bennett. 9, Alex Dolly. 1, Andrew Turner. 2, George Roberts. 3, Joe Jones. 4, Ben Murphy (C). 5, Adam Hopkinson. 6, Thom Smith . 7, Rhys Tait. 8, Morgan Strong.

Replacements | 16, Fred Davies. 17, Jasper McGuire. 18, Logovi’i Mulipola. 19, Josh Williams. 20, Arthur Green. 21, Archie Smeaton. 22, Ollie Fox. 23, Will Parry. 

Unavailable for selection due to injury: Cory Teague, Conor Davidson.