The Chinnor match abandonment appeal hearing on Wednesday evening the 29th January was opened and adjourned to Wednesday next, the 5th February for reasons beyond Doncaster’s control. We will keep you informed thereafter.
The Chinnor match abandonment appeal hearing on Wednesday evening the 29th January was opened and adjourned to Wednesday next, the 5th February for reasons beyond Doncaster’s control. We will keep you informed thereafter.
Doncaster Knights Head Physiotherapist Tom Pearson discussed our current injured players and where they are at in terms of their rehabilitation.
“This injury update is something we’ve been wanting to bring in for a while now, just to keep the fans in the loop of what’s happening behind the scenes and now seems like an appropriate time.
“The the first one initially is Thom Smith, I don’t know if people have seen on social media, I know he’s he’s put a couple of pictures out, but he recently had shoulder surgery last week. He’s gonna be out for the next, roughly four to five months and it’s quite a big op. We are confident he’s gonna come back and we can work really hard to get him stronger while he’s working through his rehabilitation.
“Connor Edwards has also recently had surgery on his hand, it’s a much shorter turnaround but we’re confident he’s gonna be back in the next three or four weeks from that.”
George Wacokecoke is also undergoing rehab for a more long term injury, “he picked up a hamstring injury against Hartpury and he’s gonna miss the cup block. But, we are working to get him back for the next league block.”
Russell Bennett left the field early against Nottingham on Friday night. Tom provided an update on Bennett, “Russ did leave the field pretty early, he picked up a knee injury in that game which was a contact injury and we actually scanned him earlier this week and unfortunately he’s injured his MCL, which is one of the ligaments in his knee.”
“He is gonna miss the cup block, but we’re gonna work hard to get him back for the next league block, as early as possible.”
It is not all negative news however, as there are a handful of players who are much further along in their rehabilitation process:
“Cory Teague unfortunately picked up a nasty injury really early in the in the league against Ealing. He had a surgery on that shoulder back then, so he’s doing really well, he’s starting to integrate back into full training and we’re confident we can get him back playing in the next two or three weeks. So that’s really positive for Corey.”
“Semesa Rokoduguni is back in full training now more or less, and we’re hopeful that he’ll be back from his hamstring injury in the next two weeks.”
The Doncaster Knights medical team is made up of Tom and our assistant physiotherapist Alice Smith, as well as our two doctors James and Phil. Tom explained their roles: “Really my role is to try and get players back as quickly as possible but also safely and following the right protocols. As well as thinking about player welfare.
“A big part of what we do is obviously trying to prevent injuries, and without getting too ‘nausey’, certain injuries are preventable to a point and so we try and mitigate those types of injuries by giving players specific gym programs for example and specific things on field that they do in terms of preparation, and load monitoring. However, contact injuries, with it being a contact sport we can’t always predict those and we definitely can’t prevent them.”
As well as these injured players, we also have a handful of players who are unavailable for selection due to reasons outside of injury. These players are:
Joe Ford and Sir Ian McGeechan have named their Knights squad to face Newcastle Falcons in the return of the Premiership Cup.
We stick with the same props, Conor Davidson and Joe Jones, but swap George Roberts in at hooker, moving Fred Davies to the bench. Our second row also stays the same, Captain, Ben Murphy and Josh Williams.
Adam Hopkinson comes into the starting back row, to join Rhys Tait and Morgan Strong.
Jasper McGuire and Lewis Thiede are the replacement props, with Archie Smeaton, Ben Chapman and Shaun Adendorff are the other forwards on the bench.
Alex Dolly comes in to start at scrum half, with Ollie Fox on the bench. Morgan Bunting stays at fly half, and the rest of the back line is made up of Telusa Veainu, Jordan Olowofela, Zach Kerr, Maliq Holden and Semesa Rokoduguni returns from injury.
New loan player Aidan Cross is the back replacement on the bench.
tarting XV | 15, Telusa Veainu. 14, Semesa Rokoduguni. 13, Jordan Olowofela. 12, Zach Kerr. 11, Maliq Holden. 10, Morgan Bunting. 9, Alex Dolly 1, Conor Davidson. 2, George Roberts. 3, Joe Jones. 4, Ben Murphy (C). 5, Josh Williams. 6, Adam Hopkinson. 7, Rhys Tait. 8, Morgan Strong.
Replacements | 16, Fred Davies. 17, Jasper McGuire. 18, Lewis Thiede. 19, Archie Smeaton. 20, Ben Chapman. 21, Shaun Adendorff. 22, Ollie Fox . 23, Aidan Cross.
Unavailable for selection: Logovi’i Mulipola, Andrew Turner, Cory Teague, Thom Smith, Connor Edwards, Russell Bennett, Will Parry, Arthur Green, George Wacokecoke, Harry Davey
The fixture kicks off at 2:30PM tomorrow. Tickets available here.
Turnstiles open from 12:00!
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!
BRAND NEW DONUTS! We have now started selling donuts on all of our bars!
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:
Club Shop:
Club shop will be open from 12!
Front Row, Joe Jones discusses how the Knights are feeling heading into this weekend’s Premiership Cup clash against Newcastle Falcons.
Last week the Knights suffered a disappointing defeat to Nottingham, Jones explained how the team have reacted to that: “We’ve had a great reaction after Friday, obviously we were very disappointed, but we’ve taken a lot of learnings from it. And especially from the week before coming so close to beating Coventry away and obviously at the start of the season beating Ealing away.”
We thought we would take that momentum into Nottingham away, which we know is a really hard place to go, and unfortunately didn’t get the result we wanted. But, I felt that we got some learnings on Monday and we really want to take that into the Prem Cup now and put a real big performance in this Saturday back at home.”
The Premiership cup returns for the next three weeks and Jones shared his thoughts on the competition, “it’s a new competition and it’s a great competition, we get to play against some really good teams in Newcastle and Sale next week. But in the short term, we’re back at home against Newcastle, we really want to put on a big performance.”
The first leg of this fixture, when the Knights went to Newcastle, finished a nail biting, 31-28. Jones explained how this adds to their drive to win this weekend:
“We’re expecting a close game, we’re looking at ourselves a lot this week, our outcomes in terms of set piece around the field. I think last week unfortunately we let some of our standards slip in some areas so this week we just want to back that up.
“As I keep reiterating, we’re back at home this week and we feel like some of our best performances for example against Hartpury. It’s probably our best performance of the season, so we’re looking just to get back home and perform really.”
The front row discussed the impact of a big home crowd, “it always helps, it’s great having your family and friends watching. Especially the fans, it’s almost like that 16ht man, or woman.”
He also explained how the ‘northern battle’ adds an extra element of competitiveness to the cup:
“They’re all northern clubs, if you look at the DNA of all the northern clubs, Newcastle, Sale, Caldy and Doncaster are all massively physical teams with really good set piece. All very similar, thats why it’s quite had to find an edge against each other. Hopefully we find that this week.”
You can secure your ticket to this weekends fixture here.
Doncaster Knights are pleased to share that we have two additional teammates joining our squad for the Premiership Cup period.
Shaun Adendorff joins us on a short term deal. Shaun is a South African back row with Premiership, Super Rugby & French Pro experience. He also played for South Africa u20s when they excelled to World Rugby u20 Championship glory in 2012
Aidan Cross joins us on a short term loan from Scottish club, Glasgow Warriors. Aidan is a 24 year old winger who joined Glasgow’s A squad for the 2024 FORSOC Super Series Sprint. Cross played his club rugby with Melrose before representing Southern Knights in Scotland.
Welcome to the Castle both!
The Premiership Cup period begins on Saturday as we host Newcastle Falcons. To see the two new players in action, secure your tickets here!
Wilbourn & Co. are the top Chartered Environmental Surveyors in the country, with expertise on how the environment affects impacts on all forms of real estate working with global investors pension funds and businesses. With its base in Doncaster, the company also conducts business across Europe.
Wilbourn & Co.’s CEO, Phil Wilbourn, has been a loyal supporter and sponsor of the club for many years, as well as having been a player for the club, and a referee for 24 years – he is the epitome of a ‘rugby man’. Phil’s passion for the club went one step further this season with sponsorship of our 150th Anniversary kit, appearing on the chest of the shirt. Phil shared his delight in the agreement, “rugby is not just a sport, it’s an all-inclusive community, a way of life, and a symbol of what we stand for: resilience, teamwork, family and dedication. Being a kit sponsor this season has enabled my business to reach an untapped audience, thanks to extensive social media coverage. Business has a fun side to it as well, and my sponsorship for Doncaster Knights merges the serious and enjoyable sides of the industry, through networking drinks, delicious food with friends and clients, and, of course, rugby.”
Tracey Owen, Commercial and Partnership Executive, has enjoyed working with Phil in this sponsorship, expressing how “we, as a club, are delighted that Wilbourn & Co. are continuing and extending their sponsorship at Doncaster Knights this season, in our very special 150th Anniversary. The kit sponsorship extends our relationship and brings the Wilbourn branding to a whole, new, wide range of fans, supporters and a massive social media following. A highly valued sponsor at Doncaster Knights we welcome them into all home games, where they also sponsor our sin bin– he was a referee, after all!! Wilbourn & Co are also sponsoring our upcoming fixture in the Premiership Cup vs Caldy.”
A true advocate of the local community, Phil is also a key member of our Rotary Club associated with Doncaster Knights, who provide support for the for the Doncaster area. To learn more about Wilbourn and Co., please visit their website by clicking here.
If you are interested about the sponsorship opportunities at Doncaster Knights and how this can extend your business branding in a fun environment, then please contact Tracey Owen via email: towen@castle-park.co.uk; or via telephone 01302 831388.
The first half of the Knights Friday night clash in Nottingham was a close affair, with the score line 19-15 at the break. However, Nottingham proved to be the stronger side on the day, as they excelled in the final 20 minutes.
Doncaster spent the first five minutes of the game attacking in Nottingham’s half, moving the ball well and gaining ground. However, it was Nottingham who took the lead after Ryan Olowofela snatched a loose ball made a break up the wing to bring the hosts within 5m. They then shipped the ball out across to the other wing to go over in the corner. The conversion was successful, 7-0.
From the restart The Knights were back on the front foot and immediately answered back with a try. A Fred Davies jackal penalty gave Russell Bennett the chance to kick for the corner. Following the line out, the backs moved the ball wide to Veainu, who put in a perfectly weighted grubber for Jordan Olowofela to chase and score in the corner, 7-5.
In the next play, Bennett picked up an injury resulting in an early change to the backline, Harry Davey came on in the centres.
Nottingham then worked their way up to the try line and struggled to score from their driving maul as the Knight’s pack defended it well. However, they then opted to cross field kick, which opened up the gap for them to score in the corner. Conversion successful, 14-5.
Veainu displayed his skills again as he dodged countless Nottingham defenders to swerve his way up to the line. He was tackled just short, however, Ben Murphy finished the job by squeezing the ball over the line. Morgan Bunting added the extras, 14-12.
Fred Davies kept the energy alive for the Knights as he turned the ball over again. Unfortunately, a knock on after a few phases meant Nottingham regained possession. They then used their cross field kick again to open the gap that allowed Ryan Olowofela to score, 19-12.
The Knights then closed the gap just before half time as Bunting slotted three points, half time score 19-15.
Doncaster took the first points of the second half as Bunting kicked another three, putting us within one point, 19-18. But, shortly after, Nottingham’s back line exploit an overlap and distribute the ball out to the wing for another try, 24 – 18.
Nottingham then seemed to ignite and allowed Doncaster minimal chances to get hands on the ball. With 20 minutes left, they scored three more tries, two from moving the ball at speed and one from another cross field kick. With two of the three conversions successful the full time score was 43-18.
The Knights now turn their attention to the Premiership Cup as we host Newcastle Falcons on Saturday. Tickets for this fixture are selling fast so be sure to secure yours now! TICKETS.
If you are looking for some weekend Rugby action here at Castle Park, you can catch the Doncaster Phoenix v Moortown double header on Saturday!
Both the 1XV and 2XV will be facing the same club! Be sure to get down and show your support.
It is also your LAST CHANCE to help donate to their charity campaign for Doncaster Mind. They are taking donations of unwanted Christmas gifts to be used for raffles throughout the year.
Please help donate to this if you can!
It’s official! Doncaster Rugby Football Club’s 150th anniversary dinner will take place on Friday 25th April!
Travel back in time with us to 1875 with an evening full of exciting guest speakers, Cow Pie, friends and non stop entertainment!
There is lot’s to be announced in the lead up to the event, but believe us when we say it’s not one to miss, so make sure to note down the date and keep your eyes peeled for more updates.
Information on pricing and agenda will be announced over the coming weeks.
Everyone at Doncaster Knights is deeply saddened to hear about the passing of long time fan, Roger Lisk.
Roger moved from Wales in 1970 and was a Knights supporter immediately, he attended every home game and also travelled to away games in Leeds,Rotherham and Nottingham. He was a season ticket holder at the knights for over 15 years and the club will always be very grateful for his support over the years.
As well as being a big supporter here at Castle Park, Roger also played for wales under 15s at twickenham in the 1950s!
Roger will be missed deeply within our community and our thoughts are with his friends and family at this difficult time.