Here are your Starting XV Doncaster Knights as they host Coventry Rugby at Castle Park in Round 14 of Championship Rugby.
Couple of changes in the pack with Tom Doughty and Ben Murphy coming in to start as they swap roles with Evan Mintern and George Roberts. As always, the bench will prove the difference, so their roles will change this week in finishing the game really strong for us.
In the backs, Connor Edwards misses out due to a HIA, which is frustrating for him, but really excited to see Billy McBryde and Russell Bennett playing at 10 & 12 together, which worked really well in previous games. George Simpson comes onto the wing after really impressing us last week off the bench.
Coming onto the bench on a short term loan is Winger, Nat Greenwood from Newcastle Falcons, to cover injury within the backs.
The last time both teams met at Castle Park was back in the 2022/23 season in Round 18, where Coventry took it to the Knights with a 39-45 away win.
–Joe Ford, Head Coach
Follow all the action as it happens live over on the Knights X (Twitter) @doncasterknight
Doncaster Knights are delighted to announce the appointment of Sir Ian McGeechan as Consultant Director of Rugby. Sir Ian will assist and mentor Head Coach Joe Ford to create a new era in Doncaster RFC’s 150thAnniversary year.
Sir Ian excelled as a player, captaining Scotland on nine occasions before moving on to a highly successful coaching career. Scotland, the British & Irish Lions, Northampton Saints and London Wasps all benefitted from his knowledge and drive, during his illustrious rugby career for which he was recognised with an OBE in 1990 and a knighthood in 2010 for services to rugby.
Steve Lloyd, President of the Doncaster Knights said:
“After a relationship spanning a number of years, during which we have both fought, with others, for the betterment of Championship rugby, together with our mutual passion for Yorkshire rugby, Ian, or Geech to all who know him, very willingly agreed to come and give us a hand creating the future at Castle Park.
We continue to be focussed on development at Doncaster Knights, whether that be players, coaches or the club itself and I cannot think of a better mentor for Head Coach Joe Ford or a better fount of knowledge for the whole team and the club’s development generally”.
Here are your Starting XV Doncaster Knights as they make their way to Nottingham Rugby in Round 13 of Championship Rugby.
Brilliant to welcome Connor Edwards and Ben Murphy back into the team from being out with injury. Connor Edwards comes in at #13, replacing Joe Margetts who is out with a 3-match ban, from an incident Vs. Cambridge Rugby.
Alex Dolly comes back in to start against his old club and Fynn Brown comes into the starting pack.
The last time 4th place Doncaster faced 7th place Nottingham, at Lady Bay was back in Round 4 of the 2022-23 Championship Rugby season, which saw the Knights come away with an unfortunate defeat in 30-15.
–Joe Ford, Head Coach
Follow all the action as it happens live over on the Knights X (Twitter) @doncasterknight
As part of New Homes Week, Albemarle Homes is inviting prospective homeowners to an exclusive “Behind the Scenes” event on Friday, March 1st, and Saturday, March 2nd. This event offers a unique opportunity for homebuyers to witness first-hand the quality of a new build home.
The event offers visitors the chance to explore Albemarle homes before the plaster stage, allowing them to gain insight into the construction process and appreciate the level of detail that goes into a home behind the walls.
“This is a great opportunity for visitors to come and see how well constructed our homes are,” said Charlotte Kirk, Head of Sales at Albemarle Homes. “We are a quite unique home builder that allows purchasers to really personalise their home, whether that’s moving electrical or ethernet sockets to accommodate media walls or even internal walls to create a more bespoke open plan living space, it’s their choice, we like to create homes for our purchasers not just properties. This event lets visitors really see the level of detail we go to during each stage of construction.”
Charlotte and her team will be on hand to safely guide visitors to the plots under construction, showing the different stages and the ample possibilities for personalisation.
The ‘Behind the Scenes’ event runs during New Homes Week 26th February – 3rd March, a celebration by the Home Builders Federation that highlights the advantages of buying new. This year theme is ‘Tomorrow awaits: make it yours’, raising awareness of the increasing energy efficiency of new build homes, the relative simplicity of the buying process and the peace of mind cover and value for money that they offer.
“It’s great to be able to give our visitors a fully immersive experience from seeing behind the scenes to viewing the completed show homes, styled to showcase how flexible our homes are. Visitors will also be able to book an appointment to speak with one of our recommended independent financial advisers during the event, meaning they will have options and all information needed to make informed decisions about their next home move,” said Charlotte.
This exclusive event is happening on Friday 1st and Saturday 2nd March, at Albemarle Homes’ Westmoor Grange development in Armthorpe, Doncaster. It is advisable to book an appointment if visitors wish to speak with the financial adviser. Homes currently available range from the three bedroom Sloane from £215,950 to the 4 bedroom detached executive style Cavendish priced from £425,950.
England’s Under-19s will take on France Under-19s at Doncaster Knights’ ground on Saturday, March 30, kick-off 1pm, before they move on to an away game in Italy the following week.
The Under-19s side is an avenue for England Rugby pathway players for developing their skillsets with meaningful gametime on the international circuit. The squad will consist of players eligible for Under-20s selection in the summer’s World Rugby U20 Championships in South Africa, who missed out on selection for this year’s Under-20 Six Nations which runs through February and March.
It is also a significant feather in the cap of Yorkshire’s leading side in the pyramid, Doncaster Knights, who prior to Covid and before the rapid growth of the women’s team, regularly hosted international matches for England’s Red Roses.
Tickets are £12 per adult for seating, and £8 standing, with Under-16s going free, get tickets at www.drfc.co.uk/tickets
Words by Nick Westby, Doncasterfreepress.co.uk
Here at Doncaster Knights, we wanted to put the spotlight on the current players we have, who have played age grade, international rugby. We caught up with a few of the lads and spoke on rugby journeys, personal experience and transferable skills.
You can catch the Knights down at Castle Park on 2nd March where they play Coventry Rugby in Round 14 of Championship rugby (Get tickets at www.drfc.co.uk/tickets)
Joe Margetts of Doncaster Knights appeared before an independent disciplinary panel chaired by Charles Cuthbert sitting with Tony Wheat and Christian Scotland-Williamson on 6 February .
He was shown a red card during the match against Cambridge Rugby on Saturday 3 February. This was for a tip tackle contrary to World Rugby Law 9.18. Margetts accepted the charge and was given a three-week suspension.
Margetts will miss the following games:
23.02 v Nottingham Rugby
02.03 v Coventry
09.03 v London Scottish
The full judgement can be viewed here and an infographic summarising the outcome is available here.
For a glossary of key disciplinary terms please click here.
For RFU Regulation 19 Appendix 2 please click here.
For background detail on panel members please click here.
Previous judgements can be found here.
Doncaster Knights 29 v Cambridge 19 by Guy Williams.
A red card against Doncaster centre Joe Margetts, mid-way through the second half, for a dangerous tackle on Cambridge centre Jamie Benson, was the major talking point at Castle Park where the Knights earned maximum points to claim their seventh league victory.
As Benson, who’d earlier scored two excellent tries for an enterprising Cambridge team, was on the attack again, he clashed with Margetts on 60 minutes.
Benson landed on his neck following a tip-tackle and required treatment, but then continued. The referee Hamish Grant was decisive and brandished a red card, and it’s likely that Margetts will be banned for more than a month.
Although Doncaster played 20 minutes with 14 men, and wasted several opportunities to add to their lead of 26-19, Cambridge were unable to take advantage of the Knights’ understrength.
Knight’s coach, Steve Boden, didn’t query the red card in his post-match comments.
“ I can’t argue. We know the laws of the game and where it’s going. There was no intent by Joe, but Benson steps inside him, it’s high and Joe has to look after him.
“ I’m really happy with five points, but we should have been scoring 50 points because of where we had the ball.
“ But it’s the same old thing. You can have as much possession as you like, but if you don’t do anything with it, you’ll suffer. However, I’m happy with our set-piece and parts of our defence and the fact we dominated field positions.”
In a decent first half, tries by fly half Billy McBryde, prop Conor Davidson, winger Jack Metcalf and centre Joe Bedlow, and three conversions from full back Russell Bennett, set up Doncaster’s win against adventurous and committed opponents.
Indeed, after Cambridge’s third try by number eight Nahum Merigan was converted, the teams were drawing 19-19,so Doncaster
were relieved when Bedlow,set up by his powerful pack on Cambridge’s line, spotted an opening to grab his team’s fourth try just before the interval.
A lead of 26-19 looked flimsy, and after throwing away five decent scoring opportunities, the Knights were more than grateful when Bennett put over a penalty in the 66th, points which opened up a gap of 10 points.
With Doncaster leading 29-19, Cambridge were chasing the game and attacked the Knights’ line on 75 minutes, but spoiled the opportunity when conceding a penalty, so Doncaster survived.
Here is your Starting XV Doncaster Knights as they host Cambridge Rugby in Round 12 of Championship Rugby
We have Conor Davidson, Ehize Ehizode and Charlie Beckett coming back into the pack today, with Charlie having his first start for the club, so we’re really looking forward to seeing him go.
Joe Bedlow comes in to start at Centre, very excited to see him get stuck in after a few weeks out.
Aloisi Vereimi comes in on the bench, inline to get his first game in the league, for the club.
Archie McArthur in on the bench at #17, currently on loan from Gloucester to fill out the forward pack.
The last time the Knights faced Cambridge Rugby at Castle park, was back in September in the Premiership cup, where the Knights took a hard fought victory with a 38-11 win over the blood and sand.
Follow all the action as it happens live over on the Knights X (Twitter) @doncasterknight
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