Doncaster Knights are deeply saddned to announce the passing of loyal supporter, Brian Townend.
Townend has been a lifelong member of Doncaster Knights rugby club. He was also a referee, sponsor and vice president. He was an important part of the Doncaster Knights community and will be hugely missed.
The club would like to extend it’s deepest condolences to his friends, family and anyone who knew him. Our thoughts are with you at this difficult time.
Joe Ford and Sir Ian McGeechan have named thier squad to face Hartpury Away.
Our front row and second row remain unchanged from last week’s win agasint Coventry. Andrew Turner, George Roberts and Lewis Thiede, with Ben Murphy and Josh Williams in the second row.
Ben Chapman comes into the back row to join Archie Smeaton and Morgan Strong.
Fred Davies returns from Barbarians duty to be our replacement Hooker, Conor Davidson and Logovi’i Mulipola make the replacement front row.
Adam Hopkinson and Jasper McGuire make up the remaining forward replacements.
Our half backs remain the same, Alex Dolly and Russell Bennett, with Will Parry returning from bath to join Zach Kerr in the centre.
Jordan Olowofela, Obi Ene and Telusa Veainu make up the back three.
Ollie Fox and Morgan Bunting are the half back replacemnts, with George Wacokecoke back on the bench.
Starting XV | 15, Telusa Veainu. 14, Obi Ene. 13, Zach Kerr, 12, Will Parry. 11, Jordan Olowofela. 10, Russell Bennett. 9, Alex Dolly. 1, Andrew Turner. 2, George Roberts. 3, Lewis Thiede. 4, Ben Murphy (C). 5, Josh Williams. 6, Archie Smeaton. 7, Ben Chapman. 8, Morgan Strong.
Replacements | 16, Fred Davies. 17, Conor Davidson. 18, Logovi’i Mulipola. 19, Adam Hopkinson. 20, Jasper McGuire. 21, Ollie Fox. 22, Morgan Bunting. 23, George Wacokecoke.
Unavailable For Selection |Thom Smith, Harry Davey, Joe Jones, Maliq Holden, Connor Edwards, Aidan Cross.
The Club can announce that Number Eight, Morgan Strong will depart the club at the end of the season.
Doncaster Knights would like to pass on a massive thank you to Morgan for an increadible shift in the blue and red stripes, it’s been fantastic watching him tear up in Yorkshire.
Strong has played every single game so far this season, and racked up an impressive eight tries for the club, with three games still to play.
Morgan said: ” I just want to say a big thank you too the players, coaches and especially the fans. It’s been one of the most enjoyable seasons in my career and I’ve really appreciated the time i’ve spent here at Doncaster.”
The club has no doubt that Strong will go so far and smash his next venture. We would like to wish Morgan and his family all the very best.
English rugby’s second tier reveals new competition format and brand as it gears up for the 2025-26 season!
• New competition structure includes the introduction of both champion and relegation play offs.
• Introduction of a bold new brand identity: Champ Rugby, The Proving Ground.
A transformed competition format for the second tier of English rugby for the 2025-26 season and beyond, as well as a bold new-look identity has been revealed. Re-branded ‘Champ Rugby’, the competition will become a 14-team league with play-offs designed to elevate player development, club sustainability and competitive integrity. Worcester Warriors, which recently gained a place after a rigorous selection process, and Richmond, the 2024-25 winners of National League 1, will join the existing 12 clubs that currently form the Championship.
The league’s new visual identity positions Champ Rugby as the proving ground for players, clubs and communities and is aligned to the growth trajectory for the league. It also supports the vision to inspire and engage current and future generations of rugby fans, while also bringing commercial sustainability and growth to its clubs.
All teams will play each other in home and away fixtures over 26 rounds. At the end of the 26-round Champ Rugby regular season, the table will be split into qualification stages. The teams ranked from third to sixth will take part in quarter finals to earn entry into the semi-finals, where the winners will take on the top two ranked sides. The winners of the semi-finals enter the final to determine the Champ Rugby champion.
The overall winner will then face the bottom Premiership Rugby club in a promotion/relegation play-off, in both a home and away leg, to determine which league they will play in for the following campaign, subject to meeting the minimum standards criteria.
At the bottom end of the table, the team that finishes in 14thplace will be relegated to National 1. The teams that finish in 12th and 13th will face-off in a one-legged fixture, with the losertaking part in a play-off against the winner of the NationalLeague 1 play-off to determine who will play in Champ Rugby for the following season. This play-off (Access Final) will be a one-legged fixture, with the winner joining the champion of National League 1 in Champ Rugby, subject to the teams meeting Champ Rugby Minimum Operating Standards (https://www.englandrugby.com/run/rules-governance/rfu-rules-and-regulations/tier-2-minimum-operating-standards-202526).
Simon Gillham, Tier 2 Board Chair, said: “We are excited to announce the structure of Champ Rugby, which will bring a highly competitive and gripping conclusion to the season, providing both aspiration and jeopardy.
“We have worked closely with the clubs and stakeholders on developing a compelling league format that rewards ambition and plays a key role in growing the sport, supporting both player and club development.
“Building up English rugby’s second tier competition is critical to the transformation of the elite game in this country,and we are at the start of that journey. Delivering high quality event day experiences, gripping on-field drama at the conclusion of the season and more compelling digital and visual content will support our transformation aims for the league.
“We have developed a really strong brand identity which we believe showcases everything the league represents and the impact we know it will have on the sport, our players, communities and fans. It will appeal to both existing supporters of the league as well as being exciting and compelling for a new and younger audience as well as importantly potential sponsors and investors in the league.
“We look forward to seeing the new brand roll-out across both central Champ Rugby channels as well as those of the clubs as preparation for the 2025-26 season starts in earnest.”
A detailed fixture release will be announced in the coming weeks.
Doncaster Knights hooker, Fred Davies was selcted to represent the Barbarians in two different fixtures across May.
Not only did Davies represent the iconic touring team, he also was given the honour of being captian during his second appearance.
The barbarians helped celebrate two historic moments in May with back-to-back fixtures against Durham University RFC and Glasgow Acadmicals RFC. The historic touring club entertained supporters in their opening games of 2025 to firstly celebrate DURFC’s 150th anniversary before heading further north a week later to mark the 100th anniversary of Scotland’s 1925 Grand Slam success.
The final scores were:
Durham University 31-55 Barbarians
Glasgow Academicals 31-78 Barbarians
Davies scored three times during the campaign, twice against Glasgow and once against Durham.
Everyone at the club extends a huge congratulations to Fred on a fantastic achievement.
Doncaster Knights are delighted to announce that Full Back, Telusa Veianu re-signs for 2025/26.
Starting his rugby career in New Zealand, Veainu worked his way through the age groups of Canterbury RFC’s squads, before being rewarded with an appearance in the New Zealand U20s World Cup in 2010, where he scored 5 tries, including a hat-trick in the final. Telusa got his call up to the Canterbury first team squad and went on to make 34 appearances and scoring 21 tries.
In 2015, he relocated to England and joined Leicester Tigers, where he really began to make a name for himself and stunned the Premiership crowds. Playing for the Midlands side 80 times and scoring a brilliant 32 tries, he became a fan favourite during his 5-year tenure, and even helped the squad lift the Anglo-Welsh Cup in the 2016/17 season.
Internationally, Telusa represneted Tonga at senior level and was selected for the 2015 Rugby World Cup. Since then he has played 12 times for the ‘Sea Eagles’ scoring 8 times, and was even selected in the 2019 World Cup Squad, in which he was Tonga’s top try-scorer.
Ahead of the 2020/21 season, Telusa hopped across the Channel this time and joined Stade Français. He remained a consistent and dependent player for the French side, and managed to reach double figure tries, scoring 10 during his 3 years in the capital.
Most recently, he joined Doncaster Knights this season after spending a year with fellow northern club Sale Sharks.
He has been an intergral part of the Knights this season, sharing his experience and skills with those around him.
Head of recruitment Matt Harland said:
“What can I say that hasn’t already been said about Telusa. But, to have a player of his quality at the club is everything when you are building a squad. You can see the influence he is having on the team by the way we have been playing since Christmas. He pushes everyone to get the most from training and takes the level up each day. We are delighted to have him at the club and it shows how serious the club are about pushing on to that next step.”
The vote is now open for Doncaster Knights try of the season!
The end of season awards will be announced in the concourse after our 150th Anniversary game against Cornish Pirates as part of the celebrations entertainment.
The club is very pleased to share that Jasper McGuire has re-signed for another season.
In 2017, McGuire was first brought in to the Yorkshire Academy. After two successful seasons in their academy, McGuire moved on to university where he played for Northumbria University in the BUCS Super Rugby league for 4 years. He then moved across the city to Newcastle Uni and played a year with them as he completed his Masters in Urban Planning.
At the end of his Masters in 2023, Jasper was chosen for the England Students squad, managed by forwards coach Daz Fearn, and also signed his first pro contract for Premiership club, Saracens in April of that year. He then spent a period on loan at Saracen’s feeder team, Ampthill, playing 13 times in the Championship and Prem Cup.
Japser then made the move to Doncaster Kights at the start of this season, proving an important player in the team, playing both prop and number eight.
Forwards Coach Darren Fearn said:
“It’s great Jasper has committed to the club. He is someone you want with you going into battle, we need blokes like that. Jasper’s versatility this season shows the talent of him as a rugby player, and how much we value him. Jasper is a proud Yorkshireman and I know what playing for Doncaster means to him & his Family.”
Head of recruitment Matt Harland said:
“We are all really happy Jasper has decided to stay at the club for next season. Another Yorkshire lad and a player that we’ve seen develop through University to now. He is also a player Daz knows very well. The physicality and adaptability he brings to the team is exciting, I think we are just scratching the surface of what Jasper is capable of and we are looking forward to see him continue that at Castle Park next season.”
Doncaster Knights are delighted to share that Hooker, Ben Chapman has re-signed for 2025/26.
Chapman started his rugby at just 4-years-old with his home team, Crowborough RFC. He worked his way through the ranks there, and pursued his rugby while at school at Skinner’s School in Tunbridge Wells, becoming 1st XV Captain in his final year.
He was part of the England youth set-ups on multiple occasions, for the U18s Counties squad in 2019. He was also a leading player in the Cardiff University 1st team, who had their highest BUCS Super Rugby finish with Chapman as vice-captain, which earned him a spot in the England Students squad.
After his university studies, he joined Ampthill as a consistent starter in their 2023/24 campaign, before moving here last season. Since then, Chapman has become an integral member of the squad, impressing with his fantastic work rate, energy and skill set.
Forwards Coach Darren Fearn said:
“Chappers staying for another season is great for our group. He has a great attitude and is such a coachable lad. Chappers skill set fits so much with our game, he’s stood out at hooker & back row this season. Chappers has really gone after his set piece & we are seeing the impact of this on the field. I am really excited to work with Chappers again next season.”
Head of recruitment Matt Harland said:
“We are delighted that Chappers has decided to stay at the club for next season. I’ve watched him closely since his time at Uni and watched his game continue to develop over the last few years. More so this year in a full time environment, we know there is much more to come from Chappers and that is exciting for the club to have that talent at Castle Park for another year.”
The vote is now open for Doncaster Knights supporters’ player of the season!
The end of season awards will be announced in the concourse after our 150th Anniversary game against Cornish Pirates as part of the celebrations entertainment.
