The Knights produced a performance full of pride, but were unable to capitalise on their chances as they lost 18-6 to Coventry at the Butts Park Arena.

Despite taking an early lead with a penalty, it was the home side that edged the first half and went into the break with a narrow 8-6 lead.

After the interval, Coventry showed their dominance as the Knights failed to be clinical in the opposition 22; allowing the Midlands side to dot down their second try of the game and seal the victory midway through the second half.

It was Doncaster that stared the game in encouraging fashion as they earned two quick penalties, the second of which Olver slotted away superbly from the 10m line.

That early lead was soon squashed after Coventry were handed a one-man advantage when Robin Hislop was shown a yellow card. Moments later, Joe Buckle was on the end of a driving maul to give the home side a 5-3 score line.

Cov then began to string some flowing rugby together, but couldn’t get passed a firm Doncaster defence and were made to settle for a penalty in the 31^st minute, which was scored by Will Maisey.

Clive Griffiths’ outfit rallied back though and ended the half the better side as Olver kicked another penalty to send the Knights into the interval at 8-6 down.

The second half was a hard-fought affair with Doncaster producing a performance full of pride and effort, but simply came up short in the key moments.

After the interval it was a case of missed chances with Steve McColl having the first opportunity as he twice kicked the ball into the Cov 22, but it unfortunately rolled out of play.

That woke the home side up and they began to fight back and show why they are such a formidable force at the Butts Park Arena. Doncaster were soon pushed back into their own half and eventually gave away a penalty with Rory Jennings slotting it away in the 58^th minute.

Coventry’s lead was quickly extended with a well taken try. Thomas Kessel played a kick over the Donny defence into the 22, with the ball bouncing favourably for Maxwell Trimble to catch and dot down in the corner. Jennings added the extras to earn the home side a 18-6 lead.

The visitors started to get a foothold in the game after the 70^th minute mark with two line outs in the Cov 22. The first of which, Ben Hunter tried to drive the Knights forward, but dropped the ball in a tackle allowing it to be cleared into touch in the Donny half.

Still Doncaster kept attacking as they looked for the try that their efforts deserved. However, nothing came of it and the home side were eventually able to clear the danger with ease as the game came to a close and saw the visitors leave with a 18-6 defeat.

Match Statistics

Knights XV: 15. Steve McColl(62’Packman) 14. Kyle Evans 13. Lloyd Hayes 12. Charlie Foley(62′ Doherty) 11. Tyson Lewis 10. Sam Olver 9. Tom James(75’Pocklington) 1. Robin Hislop(62’Thomas) 2. George Edgson(56’Hunter) 3. Andrew Foster(41’Quigley) 4. Matthew Postlethwaite 5. Morgan Eames 6. Rob Farrar(67’Sproston) 7. Rouban Birch 8. Tom Calladine ©

Replacements: 16. Ben Hunter 17. Marc Thomas 18. Colin Quigley 19. Will Holling 20. Joe Sproston 21. Sam Pocklington 22. Howard Packman 23. Connor Doherty

Penalties: Olver 2

Yellow Card: Hislop

Coventry XV: 15. James Stokes 14. David Halaifonua 13. Heath Stevens 12. Rory Jennings 11. Max Trimble 10. Will Maisey 9. Tom Kessell 1. James Gibbons 2. Joe Buckle 3. Gareth Denman 4. Nile Dacres 5. James Voss 6. Adam Peters 7. Luke Wallace 8/ Ryan Burrows ©

Replacements: 16. Scott Tolmie 17. Luc Jeannot 18. Phil Boulton 19. Senitiki Nayalo 20. Jack Ram 21. Pete White 22. Will Owen 23. Tony Fenner

Tries: Buckle, Trimble Conversions: Jennings 2 Penalties: Jennings, Maisey