Knights sign two Bath players to bolster squad

Doncaster are delighted to announce the addition of two more players for the 2024/25 season. Arthur Green (back row) and Will Parry (centre) will join Castle Park on a season-long loan from Bath RFC.

The pair have been through a lot of rugby together, with their careers making real progress whilst at Sherborne School. Both Green and Parry captained their 1st XV side, displaying real talent and leadership from a young age.

With Sherborne being in north-west Dorset, they were drafted into the Bath RFC academy for U18 and subsequently the England U18 squad, making quite the impression and signing their first pro contracts with the West Country club after leaving school in 2022.

Arthur and Will both opted to relocate up north and attend Durham University, studying Sociology and Geography accordingly, whilst representing the Palatinates’ 1st team and being key members of their squad last season.

The pair haven’t always been joined at the hip, in 2023 during the World Cup, Will had the opportunity to train with the senior squad before the Fiji game, saying how inspirational it was. Meanwhile, Arthur was selected for the 2024 U20s World Cup, making two appearances and scoring in the final against France to win the tournament.

Both boys are entering their final year of university and will be joining the Knights to keep their competitive rugby going, whilst also focusing on their studies and being closer to Durham. We look forward to immersing them into the squad and seeing what they have to offer. 

Job Vacancy – Girls (U16/18, U14, U12) Volunteer Rugby coach

Doncaster Knight Mini Juniors are seeking dynamic and committed volunteers to join our Girls programme for the 24/25 season and beyond.
 
In 2021 the RFU launched its Inclusivity and Diversity plan which was designed to build a sport that better reflects society. Doncaster RFC is totally invested in driving this plan forward and committed to support the diversification of its coaching workforce.
 
There has never been a more exciting time for women’s and girls’ rugby. As one of the fastest-growing sports for women and girls, rugby offers a dynamic and empowering environment where they can thrive, as evidenced by the success of the Red Roses. With the Women’s World Cup 2025 on the horizon, now is the perfect time to get involved.
 
Opportunities are available in the following programmes:
Doncaster U16/18 Girls
Doncaster U14 Girls
Doncaster U12 Girls
 
We wish to hear from people who believe they have the experience and skill to deliver quality coaching to the above programmes. 
Experienced players wishing to make the transition into coaching should apply, as assistance to achieve the England Rugby Coaching Award will be available.
 
All coaches will have the opportunity to take part in a programme of continuous personal development which Doncaster RFC will support. 
 
Please forward your rugby CV onto Nikki Davies Head of Age grade Rugby at Doncaster Knight Mini Juniors at [email protected] by 5pm on Friday 29th September.
 
If you wish to discuss any role, please call Nikki on 01302 831388. 

Doncaster Knights come from behind to defeat Bristol Bears 14-33 in closed doors friendly fixture

The Knights travelled down to Bristol Bears training facilities to take on the west country team in a friendly fixture that took place behind closed doors.

Despite being 14-0 down at half time, the Knights displayed a determined and skilful performance that allowed them to dominate the second half.  

The tricky conditions in the first half meant it was a slow start for Doncaster, however there was some promising moments throughout.

Bristol came close to scoring their first points during a line out on the 5m line. However, the Knights defended with strength and managed to regain possession during the rolling maul. The visitors then opted for the scrum before Alex Dolly comfortably cleared the exit kick.

Jordan Olowofela

The Knights continued to defend well with both Thom Smith and Ben Murphy earing turnovers from jackles. However, after holding out the home team for a while, Bristol eventually cracked the defence and scored two tries in quick succession.

Bristol’s first score followed a line out where the ball was offloaded to a forward that squeezed his way through the Knights’ defence. Their second try also followed a line out with the hooker breaking away from the rolling maul and sliding over the line.

Both Bristol’s tries were converted meaning the Knights went into half time 14-0 down.

Nonetheless, Doncaster lit up the second half with exciting attack and impeccable defence, scoring five tries and conceding none.

The Knights threw a long line out to Lewis Thiede who carried well to gain ground, before Dolly offloaded to Taniela Ramasibana. Ramasibana carried to the line and popped the ball to Maliq Holden, who finished the try in the corner. Russ Bennett confidently slotted the conversion from out wide.

Maliq Holden scoring in the corner

Holden then claimed a second score after the forwards made a series of carries on the line. This drew in the defence and opened the space for Holden to receive the ball and finish in the corner again. Bennett levelled the scores with another conversion from the touchline.

Connor Davison made a fantastic break and gained serious ground before offloading to Ben Chapman. Chapman delayed his offload to Ollie Fox long enough to open the gap for Fox to carry the remaining distance and score. Bennett added the extras again.

Russ Bennett

Jordan Olowofela was the next Knight to get his name on the score sheet. Fox fed the ball out the scrum to Bennett, who then shifted the ball back inside as Olowofela ran onto the ball at pace, allowing him to slide right over the line. Yet again, Bennett added the extras.

Finally, Holden earned himself a hattrick when reacted quickly to a loose ball, kicking it down the wing and chasing at pace. He showed great speed to beat the Bristol defenders to the ball and gather it over the line.

Full time score, 14-33.

After a promising game, the Knights now look ahead to the start of the Championship on Saturday the 21st of September, where they will face Ampthill at home.

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English Rugby Set for a New Approach under the Men’s Professional Game Partnership

The Rugby Football Union, Premiership Rugby and The Rugby Players Association have co-created a new Men’s Professional Game Partnership (MPGP) after 18 months of collaboration. 
 
The eight-year partnership aims to create world-leading English teams and thriving professional leagues with players and fans at the heart of it.

Improved Governance, Funding, Stabilisation and Cost Alignment

To lead this partnership into the next era, a new Professional Rugby Board (PRB) has been established to replace the Professional Game Board so that all rugby decisions are brought under one roof to oversee the strategy. The PRB will have an independent chair and two further independent members.  

The RFU and Premiership Rugby will each have three voting members including the RFU’s newly appointed Board Member Wayne Barnes. The RPA will have two seats on the new Board (one voting and one observer) to ensure that players are central to decision making for the professional game. 

The funding deal is across two four-year cycles with a guaranteed £33m per season for the first cycle, moving to a profit share in the second cycle of 26% of the RFU’s Profit Before Rugby Investment (PBRI). 

A number of joint initiatives to grow revenues and manage costs in the overall system, include;

  • Commercial growth through a landmark Joint Marketing Agreement, driving club attendances and growing respective TV audiences and social following.  
  • A commitment to implementing a salary cap formula from 25/26 aligned to key central financial metrics, which will include a review of the salary cap credit system.
  • Closer alignment and sharing of information to aid player welfare and management across the professional game.
  • Implementation of an independent Financial Monitoring Panel (FMP) to monitor financial stability across Premiership Rugby and provide confidence to clubs playing in any given season. The FMP is currently chaired by Sir Nigel Boardman and is already in operation for the 24/25 season.

World-leading English teams                                                                                                                                                        

The Men’s Professional Game Partnership has a vision to create ‘World-leading English teams and thriving professional leagues delivered through a fully optimised performance system in partnership with our players’. Fundamental to this vision are the changes to professional rugby system that have been agreed:  
 
Enhanced England Playing Squad (EPS)                                                                                                                                                  

The England Head Coach will be able to select up to 25 players into the Enhanced EPS, ensuring optimum preparation for key international fixtures, and will have the final say on all sports science and medical matters relating to the management of Enhanced EPS players.   
 
England performance pathway                                                                                                                                                                    

To provide improved international playing opportunities and a link to the senior men’s team, the U20s EPS squad will be expanded to 50 players and there will be up to four England A matches per season, with the squads drawn from the Senior and U20 EPS squads, with the opportunity to bring in additional U23 players if required. 
 
Player welfare and management                                                                                                                                                            

There is a continued commitment to world-leading player welfare initiatives through collaboration and joint investment, including the use of aligned welfare and performance data systems for all players, clubs and England teams, underpinned by audited and sanctionable minimum standards/regulations. A jointly implemented Athlete Management System (AMS) will be introduced across clubs and England to better integrate, standardise and report on welfare and performance data.  
 
Academy structure                                                                                                                                                                            

Reflecting the new structure of the Gallagher Premiership, the academy boundaries have been redefined, aligned to the Premiership clubs alongside a Yorkshire academy which will continue to be RFU operated under authority of the PRB. These academies will work with and utilise central data to establish satellite sites to ensure regional coverage with an ambition for access with reduced travel time for players. 
 
Pathway changes.                                                                                                                                                                                    

The academies will deliver a redefined phased approach to the player development system, starting at U15 and encompassing three phases: Foundation (ages 15 to 16), Development (ages 17 to 18) and Confirmation (ages 19 to 20). Each Academy will ensure that at least two State School / College partnerships are established, developed, and appropriately resourced to be able to participate in the RFU schools’ competition.  
 
Community                                                                                                                                                                                                  

All parties are working together to co-create a joint community game programme that will align with the priorities emerging from the RFU’s Community Game Future strategy and will build on the success of Project Rugby to continue to make the game more inclusive (the joint initiative from Premiership Rugby, in collaboration with the RFU and Gallagher that focused on engaging disadvantaged young people with Rugby Union).  
 
Player Support Fund                                                                                                                                                                                      

All three parties will establish a Player Support Fund, which will be administered and supported by Restart, the official charity of the RPA. The fund will initially focus on medical support for retiring players, mental wellbeing support for current and retired players, as well as providing a safety net for players and staff affected by unforeseen club situations.   

Promotion and Relegation 

The RFU Council agreed there would continue to be a two-match home and away play-off between the bottom placed Gallagher Premiership club and the winner of the Championship/Tier 2, provided that that latter club meets the Minimum Standards Criteria in place at the relevant time. This continues to allow for promotion and relegation, but also balances the careful financial challenges of clubs in those leagues and ensure that promoted clubs can sustainably compete.   
 
PGB agreed to increased flexibility in the Minimum Standards Criteria (MSC) for entry into the Gallagher Premiership. The new MSC will allow a longer period for a promoted club to achieve required ground capacities.  Clubs may move from 5,000, to 7,500 and finally 10,001 at the start of their fourth season in the Premiership at the latest. This should enable aspirational clubs who gain promotion longer to embed into the Premiership a smoother transition in terms of investment into their stadium. From the start of the 2024/25 season, the responsibility of determining the MSC will transfer to the Professional Rugby Board. 
 
Championship clubs have again been invited to play in the Premiership Rugby Cup and this invitation has already been extended for the 2025/26 season. 

All parties want a viable, sustainable, and valued second tier that can produce clubs capable of competing in the Premiership and providing the jeopardy and competition that keeps the league vibrant. However, there is currently a major gap in competitiveness and playing budgets between the Gallagher Premiership and Championship clubs and the financial requirements needed to compete in the Gallagher Premiership. 

Doncaster Knights sign half back, James Blackett on month-long deal

Doncaster Knights are pleased to share that half back, James Blackett will be joining the club for the first month of the Championship season. 

The 22-year-old has come from Premiership side Newcastle Falcons, where he featured in both the Gallagher Premiership and the Premiership Rugby Cup.

During 2024 Blackett traveled to New Zealand where he played for Morrinsville Sports in the Waikato Club Competition as well as working for Piako tractors. Following this, he was in the Waikato NPC wider training squad, partaking in Pre-season training as well as representing the NZ Harlequins (Waikato development). 

The Knights are looking forward to having James around while the Championship season begins. 

 

 

Phoenix and Demons in action at Castle Park this Weekend

If you are looking for a fix of Doncaster Rugby this weekend, both Phoenix and the Demons will be wrapping up their pre-season preparations this weekend with home friendly matches at Castle Park.

Phoenix kick-off the weekend on Saturday 31st August when they host Tupton, and will be hoping to follow up on their recent impressive performance against Paviors.

Tupton are coached by Rob McGeechan, son of Sir Ian and to our knowledge are playing at Castle Park for the first time – we look forward to the game.

On Sunday 1st September the Demons also have a pre-season friendly against Mansfield – another side travelling to Armthorpe for the first time.

Both fixtures will give the relevant coaching staff an opportunity to give players a last run out before the new season start in earnest next weekend.

Kick-off for both games is at 2.30pm and with the weather looking decent on both days it’s the perfect excuse to get down to Castle Park to enjoy some rugby, the bar will of course be open and the BBQ will be fired up.

Open training session photo gallery!

Last night the gates to Castle Park were opened to the public for an open training session. The fans were able to watch an hour of the Knights training, before heading over to the concourse bar for a player/coach Q and A. 

Throughout the evening our players were around for signatures and pictures. The night was a great way for the fans to meet the players and get to know our brand new squad!

View the pictures from the event below:

 

Guinness Six Nations Tickets Application Open!

Current DRFC members (Season Ticket Holder for a minimum of 3 years) are invited to apply for tickets for England Rugby’s 2025 Guinness Six Nations home fixtures.

Please kindly complete and submit this form before the 14th September 2024 if you would like tickets for the England Men’s Six Nations Series 2025 matches to be played at Twickenham.

Ticket prices are for category two and prices will vary per game. The Club receives a relatively small ticket entitlement for all games and when demand outstrips supply, tickets will be allocated via a ballot system. Please read the important information and select ONLY the games you wish to attend as payment is required promptly.
 
The dates of the games are as follows:
 
England Vs France – Saturday 8th February 2025 – KO 4.45pm
England Vs Scotland – Saturday 22nd of February 2025 – KO 4.45pm
England Vs Italy – Sunday 9th of March 2025 – KO – 3:00pm
 
The deadline for securing tickets for England Rugby’s 2025 Guinness Six Nations home games is 14th September 2024! Please complete our online form via the link below: https://forms.gle/rHGDtHsnjZRmtp3D6
 
As always, the Club receives a limited number of tickets for each game, so should demand outstrip supply, tickets will be allocated via a ballot and successful applicants will receive a confirmation email.
 
 

Start of Season Lunch

The start of season dinner makes its return!

Ben Murphy announced as Club Captain.

Joe Ford and Sir Ian McGeechan have appointed Second Row, Ben Murphy as this seasons club captain. 

Ben is now one of the longest serving members of the current squad, and on 43 caps for the Knights, will surely hit his half century for the club this season. Everyone in the squad looks up to Ben (literally!), setting an exemplary standard in training.

Born in Wales, Murphy was a product of the regional pathways in Wales, beginning his rugby career at Abercynon for their junior squads, and played there until he was 18. 

In 2014, he then signed for Merthyr RFC, who at the time, were in the Welsh Championship. Murphy had a successful 3 years at the South Walian side, aiding in their epic success by winning the Championship in his second season and immediately winning the Welsh Premiership the season after.

In 2017, Ben was spotted by URC team, Cardiff Blues, and that was where he spent a lengthy period of his career. It was part-way through the 2021/22 season that Murphy ended his contract early with the Welsh capital, and made his way up to Doncaster in the November after only making 19 appearances for Cardiff.

‘Murph’ will no doubt bring a strong, determined and ambitious leadership to the team. 

 

Update to the Knights’ pre season schedule!

Following on from Friday night’s successful pre season friendly against Bury St Edmunds the club is looking forward to the next stages in our pre season training. 

From the 4th to the 7th of September, the Knights will be travelling down to the West-Country for a training camp with Bristol Bears. This will be the second weekend trip that the team will do as part of the preparation for the season. Doncaster’s camp in Bury St Edmunds was a brilliant learning and bonding opportunity for the team and the visit to Bristol will no doubt be the same. 

This is another opportunity for the Knight’s to test themselves against a Premiership team to help ensure they perform at the highest standard possible when the Championship begins. 

If you would like to witness the Knights in action again, before the season starts. You can book a FREE ticket to our open training session at Castle Park! There will be a player Q&A as well as entertainment for younger children.