Doncaster Knights end the year with a bonus point win against Hartpury, 38-22
29th December 2024
It was a fantastic display of Championship Rugby at Castle Park as the Knights ended the year with a 38-22, bonus point win.
An early penalty set us on the front foot to begin with, however, a penalty and a try in quick succession from Hartpury meant the Knights were trailing early on.
A Doncaster yellow card opened up the space for Hartpury to score their first try as they shipped the ball out to the wing and scored from the overlap.
However, the Knights continued to snatch points at every opportunity, with Russell Bennett kicking a second penalty to close the scores. He then followed this up with an exceptional 50:22, which instantly led to a try from the Knights.
From the line out, the Knights distributed the ball quickly down the line and a pop back inside from Jordan Olowofela allowed Telusa Veainu to dance his way over the whitewash.
It wasn’t long until Donny extended their lead through Thom Smith. George Wacokecoke threw a sneaky offload out the back to Smith and Smith displayed the step of a back to open up the gap and stretch over the line.
The half time score was 16-8.
Arthur Green then opened the second half with a big crowd pleaser. Ollie Fox picked the ball from the breakdown and carried into space, before shipping the ball across to Green. Green showed incredible footwork to stump Hartpury’s full back and finish under the posts. Bennett added the extras.
Olowofela then followed it up with a bit of his magic to score an outstanding try. He carried hard to break through Hartpury’s defence and danced his way round bodies before diving over the line.
Veainu was shown a yellow for a high tackle and Hartpury exploited the overlap yet again. Their full back claimed a second score as the visitors shipped the ball out to the wing. They also added the extra two.
The Knights answered back almost immediately as a hard carry from Olowofela opened up the space for Connor Edwards to receive the ball and go the rest of the way.
Doncaster continued to move the ball at immense speed and Olowofela’s second try of the afternoon came as a result of this. In a matter of seconds, the ball had moved between half a dozen hands, before reaching Olowofela, who dove over in the corner.
Hartpury spent the remaining ten minutes with almost all the possession, however Doncaster defended brilliantly. It was only on the 80th minute that Hartpury managed to snatch one final score, as their forwards eventually powered over. They added the conversion to finish the game 38-22.
The Knights don’t return to Castle Park until February 1st when we face Newcastle Falcons in the Premiership Cup!
You can secure your ticket to this fixture HERE!
