Doncaster Knights kicked off the festive away games with a 7-31 bonus point win in the capital. 

Richmond were the first to get over the try line as they shipped the ball out wide to go over in the corner and added the extras. 0-7. 

However, the Knights soon warmed into the game as Ben Murphy won the ball at the breakdown to give the Knights a chance to attack. 

The back line moved the ball quickly between themselves in a nice play that brought Donny into the 22. Ollie Fox showed quick thinking by picking the ball at the breakdown before popping it to Josh Bainbridge. Bainbridge finished the job with a dive over the line. 7-5. Fox added the conversion 7-7.

Just two minutes later and Fox was working his magic yet again! Ryan Olowofela carried hard to gain a few extra meters before Telusa Veainu picked up the ball and used his notorious footwork to open up space. Fox ran the support line and received the final pass, before displaying a brilliant Dummy to get himself over the whitewash. Fox added the extras to his own try. 7-14. 

With five minutes left of the first half, Fox contributed to yet another score. He picked the ball from the back of the breakdown and somehow slithered his way through three Richmond defenders. He played the ball out to Conor Davidson, who had a clear path to the line. 7-19. 

Richmond didn’t make it easy for the Knights in the second half as it was scoreless until 65 minutes in. R Olowofela then kept the scoring alive with a nice finish in the corner after a well timed pass from Veainu opened the gap. Cameron Kelemeti added the extras 7-26. 

Richmond worked their way down the other end of the pitch on a handful of occasions but the Knights put in some big defensive efforts to hold the hosts out. 

With the clock in the red, Jordan Olowofela managed to score one final try for Donny. R Olowofela broke the line and tipped the ball to Veainu. Veainu then made the final pass out wide to J Olowofela, who finished the job in the corner. Full time score 7-31. 

The knights are back at The Rag next weekend to face London Scottish on Saturday 27th of December. 

Doncaster Knights will travel to Richmond on Friday night for the first of two festive fixtures at the RAG. Darren Fearn and Sir Ian McGeechan have named there squad as follows. 

In the front row Lewis Thiede comes into the starting line up to partner up with loose head Conor Davidson. Fred Davies remains our starting hooker, with Ben Chapman on the bench alongside props, Logovi’i Mulipola and Ethan Hulme. Hulme is a player who comes from Newcastle University, who provided cover in the front row last season, and has returned to us for a short period as injury cover again. 

The second row remains unchanged with captain Ben Murphy and Ehize Ehizode. Jasper McGuire returns to number eight, with Josh Bainbridge and Adam Hopkinson the flankers either side of him. 

Second Row Morgan Jones is named on the bench, as well as newly announced loan player Reuben Parsons. 

Ollie Fox starts at scrum half again, with Cameron Kelemeti starting at fly half. Joe Margetts comes back into the squad to start in the centres with Zach Kerr, shifting Semesa Rokoduguni back out to the wing. Aidan Cross starts on the other wing, with Telusa Veainu at fullback. 

Nye Thomas, our newly announced scrum half loan is named at 21. With the final two spaces on the bench being filled up by the Olowofela twins. 

SQUAD: 1. Conor Davidson 2. Fred Davies, 3. Lewis Thiede, 4. Ehize Ehizode, 5. Ben Murphy (C), 6. Adam Hopkinson 7. Josh Bainbridge, 8. Jasper McGuire, 9. Ollie Fox. 10. Cameron Kelemeti, 11. Aidan Cross, 12. Zach Kerr 13. Joe Margetts, 14. Semesa Rokoduguni, 15. Telusa Veainu

REPLACEMENTS: 16. Ben Chapman, 17. Logovi’i Mulipola, 18. Ethan Hulme, 19. Morgan Jones, 20. Reuben Parsons, 21. Nye Thomas, 22. Ryan Olowofela, 23. Jordan Olowofela.  

Unavailable for selection: Andrew Turner, Josh Williams, Thom Smith, Alex Dolly, Joe Jones, Connor Edwards, Russell Bennett, Morgan Bunting, East Timor Viliamu, Rhys Tait, Connor Hancock, Tye Raymont 

Doncaster Knights have added to their squad with the addition of scrum half, Nye Thomas from Sale Sharks and Back Row, Reuben Parsons from Newcastle Red Bulls. 

Parsons is a Cumbrian back-rower who joined the senior academy at Newcastle in the summer of 2024, having come through the club’s ACE programme at Gosforth Academy. Appearing eight times for Newcastle in the Premiership U18s League, Reuben was invited to an England U18s camp but unfortunately missed out on selection due to injury. Reuben made his first team debut for Newcastle in 2024-25 during the EPCR Challenge Cup home game against French club Montpellier, going on to score one try in his five appearances that season.

Thomas is a product of the Sale Sharks Academy. He shot to prominence in the early stages of the 2021/22 season when he made his Sharks debut just six months after completing his studies at Liverpool College.

Nye appeared as a second half replacement in the Gallagher Premiership fixture against Northampton Saints and in doing so, became the youngest Sale Sharks scrum-half in the league’s history. Nye had been a stand-out player as he rose through the age groups at Liverpool College and his local rugby club, Sefton RUFC.

Doncaster Knights would like to give both a warm welcome to Castle Park. 

Doncaster Knights Rugby Club were delighted to support the Cash4Kids Christmas Mission by delivering a kit van full of toys and presents to their South Yorkshire headquarters today.

First-team players Ollie Fox and Russell Bennett helped drop off the donations at Mission HQ, where volunteers were working tirelessly to sort gifts into age categories and organise deliveries to families who would otherwise go without presents on Christmas Day.

During their visit, the players toured the warehouse and spoke with volunteers to learn more about the incredible work that goes on behind the scenes, helping to “save Christmas” for so many local families.

The Knights are proud to support such an important cause within the local community and would like to thank everyone involved in donating, sorting, and delivering gifts to ensure children across South Yorkshire can experience some festive magic this Christmas.

We would like to thank anyone who contributed to the club’s collection of toys and gifts! If you missed out, Mission Christmas are still taking donations up until tomorrow (Dec 18th) so find you’re nearest drop off point ASAP: https://cashforkids.org.uk/mission-christmas/drop-off-points/ 

Ampthill opened the scores first as their inside centre broke through the line to open space, before moving the ball quickly to Brandon Jackson. Jackson ran in the try under the posts meaning the conversion was simple and the visitors went 0-7 up. 

The Knights answered back quickly with a well executed set piece. Prop, Conor Davidson managed to drive his way over the line off the back of a line out. 5-7. 

A bit of magic form the back line then allowed the Knights another score. Morgan Bunting placed a perfect cross field kick right into the hands of Cross, who chose the safe option of moving the ball back inside to Veainu. Veianu dived over the line and Bunting added the extra two points. 10-7.

Ampthill soon kept themselves in the game by stretching the ball out wide for Fraser Strachan to go over in the corner and level the scores, with another conversion ending them in front. 12-14. 

Morgan Bunting then showed a lovely bit of skill to slot a drop goal and put the Knights back ahead by a point. 15-14. 

The lead didn’t last for long as Ampthill managed to snatch another try by moving the ball out wide again. The added conversion meant the half time score was 15-21. 

Doncaster came out in the second half with some brilliant momentum, and after defending the line to hold Ampthill out, they then worked up to the other end of the pitch brilliantly. The forwards won a scrum penalty which allowed us the chance to kick to touch. 

Doncaster threw a long line out ball to Zach Kerr in the centre which sparked a brilliant move from the backline, weaving the ball out to Veainu. Veainu then kicked a perfect 50:22, gifting the Knights a line out on 5m line. A few phases later and Bunting threw a long ball out to Kerr who finished in the corner for a birthday try. 20-21. 

Ampthill fought back as Jackson snatched himself a second try with an impressive dive in the corner, and a tricky conversion from out wide but then 20-28 up.

East Timor Viliamu got his first try for the Knights. But it was Veainu who ignited the play with some fancy footwork into space. The full back then shipped it to McNab who ate up meters on the wing, before popping it back to Veainu. One final tip to Viliamu meant he could finish the job. Bunting added the extras. 27-28.

Ampthill caught the Knights in the wide channel yet again as they shipped the ball out for another try on the wing. 

Morgan Bunting added three points to keep it a one score game, but the visitors managed to come out on top by watching a penalty back. Leaving the full time score 30-38. 

 

Darren Fearn and Sir Ian McGeechan have named their squad to face Ampthill at Castle Park on Saturday. 

Conor Davidson comes into the starting line up, moving Logovi’i Mulipola to tight head. With Fred Davies keeping the starting hooker spot. Jasper Mcguire moves back to the front row as our replacement loose head, with Lewis Thiede the other replacement prop. Ben Chapman will be the spare hooker. 

In the second row, captain Ben Murphy starts alongside Ehize Ehizode, with Josh Bainbridge, Rhys Tait and East Timor Viliamu the back row behind them. Morgan Jones and Adam Hopkinson make up the remaining replacement forwards.

Our half backs remain unchanged as Ollie Fox and Morgan Bunting partner up again. We keep our centre partnership the same as Zach Kerr and Semesa Rokoduguni, and our back three is also unchanged. Aidan Cross and MattMcNab on the wings, with Telusa Veainu at full back. 

Last week’s try scorer Cameron Kelemeti is our replacement scrum half, with Ryan Olowofela and Joe Margetts also named on the bench. 

You can secure tickets to this fixture here!

SQUAD: 1. Conor Davidson 2. Fred Davies, 3. Logovi’i Mulipola, 4. Ehize Ehizode, 5. Ben Murphy (C), 6. Josh Bainbridge 7. Rhys Tait, 8. East Timor Viliamu, 9. Ollie Fox. 10. Morgan Bunting, 11. Matt McNab, 12. Zach Kerr 13. Semesa Rokoduguni, 14. Aidan Cross, 15. Telusa Veainu

REPLACEMENTS: 16. Ben Chapman, 17. Jasper McGuire, 18. Lewis Thiede, 19. Morgan Jones, 20. Adam Hopkinson, 21. Cameron Kelemeti, 22. Ryan Olowofela, 23. Joe Margetts.  

Unavailable for selection: Alex Dolly, Thom Smith, Andrew Turner, Josh Williams, Connor Edwards, Connor Hancock, Tye Raymont, Russell Bennett, Joe Jones

Doncaster Knights can confirm that as of today, George Roberts has been released from his contract to pursue an opportunity in the URC with welsh club, Dragons. 

Roberts leaves Castle Park partway through his sixth season with the club, having recently celebrated the significant milestone of 100 appearances. A popular figure on and off the field, he amassed 103 games in Knights colours and established himself as a consistent performer and respected leader within the squad.

Originally from Wales, the move represents a return home for Roberts and the chance to fulfil a long-held ambition to play for the welsh regions. 

Director of Rugby Sir Ian McGeechan praised Roberts’ contribution across his time in Doncaster:

“George has been an important player at the Knights for over 5 seasons and played 103 games. He has been core to the team’s performances and has developed as an important leader within the group. We are delighted he has been given the opportunity to play in Wales for Dragons Rugby in the URC, something he has always wanted to achieve, and he goes with the very best wishes of all at the club to continue his journey towards a Welsh jersey.”

Head Coach Darren Fearn echoed those sentiments:

“Geo has been a huge part of this squad across his six seasons here. In my time with him, he’s never stopped driving his standards and proving he’s ready for the next level. He’s earned this chance to fulfil his dream in the URC with a Welsh region. We’re proud of his development and will look forward to following his career.”

Everyone at Doncaster Knights thanks George for his outstanding service to the club and wishes him every success as he embarks on the next chapter of his career with Dragons Rugby.

Doncaster Knights started strong to secure early points that contributed to a 33-33 draw with Hartpury. 

Rhys Tait was first on the scoresheet in Gloucestershire as Jasper Mcguire who powered through Hartpury’s defence to break the line. He tipped the ball to Ollie Fox before Fox then shipped the ball to Tait, and the back row put in one final step to finish under the posts. Bunting added the extras 0-7. 

The Knights continued to work hard from the next kick off, and a brilliant turnover at the breakdown from Aidan Cross put the knights in charge again.

Matt McNab was next to score with a lovely bit of skill. Ollie Fox popped the ball blind to McNab which opened the space out wide for the winger to gain some meters before putting boot to ball. He chased the ball down and gathered it over the line. Bunting added the conversion from out wide. 0-14. 

Veainu danced round Hartpury defenders to give Doncaster a three try lead. Morgan Bunting added another impressive conversion. 0-21.

Hartpury then found their feet and worked back into the game, with a grubber through Doncaster’s defence setting them up to ground the ball over the line. A successful conversion closed the scores 7-21. 

Donny spent the remainder of the half in defence, but a strong driving maul from the hosts gave them one more score before the half time whistle. Another conversion left the score 14-21 at the break. 

The hosts were the first over the line in the second half, with their full back, Morgan dodging multiple donny defenders to score in the corner. The conversion levelled the scores. 21-21

Donny were penalised at the breakdown which meant Hartpury had the opportunity to go in front for the first time. 24-21.  

Zach Kerr then kept the Knights in the game with another strong score. Veainu delayed his pass out to the centre, opening the gap for him to show his pace to get to the line. 24-26. 

Doncaster’s discipline then allowed Hartpury to retake the lead as three penalties towards the end of the game meant they went ahead 33-26. 

Doncaster managed to pull it back in the 80th minute as they worked their way up to the line. Donny then opted for the scrum 5m out and after a dominant drive, Cameron Kelemeti picked the ball and dived over the whitewash. Bunting added the conversion to finish the game level. 

Full time score 33-33. 

Doncaster now return to Castle Park next week for a Christmas fixture against Ampthill. Secure your tickets here.