Superb Doncaster defence kept the Knights in the game during the first half, before they snatched the victory in the second. 

It was the hosts who scored the first points of the game just minutes in. With a scrum on the 5m line, they moved the ball out to Rekeiti Ma’asi-White who ran hard over the line. They added the extras to take a 7-0 lead. 

Sale had almost all of the possession for the first half, but Doncaster managed to hold out the Sharks countless times. The Knights continued to show resilience, even when they were down to 14 men, as Joe Jones received a yellow. 

Doncaster applied pressure brilliantly when defending the try line to force knock-ons multiple times. The forwards displayed great skill as multiple scrum penalties and line out turnovers contributed to keeping the Sharks at bay. 

In the first half, when the Knights did get ball in hand, there were some quality individual performances. A huge carry from Morgan Strong allowed the Knights into their attacking half for the first time in the game. 

Our new loan player from Lymm RFC, Sam Wadsworth, came on the pitch early due to an injury replacement. Wadsworth showed great talent as he also made a crucial break to bring us into the 22. 

On one of the Knights only first half visits into the 22, Alex Dolly slotted a penalty to close the scores. 7-3. 

Sale came fighting back at the next kick off and worked their way up to the line, but after attempting to ground the ball multiple times, the Knights held them out. Eventually, Donny won a penalty to exit. 

It was heartbreak on the 40th minute as a Doncaster try was disallowed. Rhys Tait made the break to bring us close, before Veainu put in a cross field kick to Zach Kerr. It’s just a little too high for Kerr, whose fingertips brushed the ball. Adam Hopkinson gathered the ball and dove it over the line, but the TMO called it forward off Kerr. Half time score 7-3. 

Doncaster started the second half brilliantly with a fantastic shift from the forwards. Sale attempted to drive the ball over from a rolling maul but Doncaster held it still. With the maul going nowhere, Sale shipped the ball out to the backs, where they knocked the ball on. The Knights then proceeded to win a scrum penalty, meaning we could exit the 22 and attack.

After working our way down to the other end of the pitch, Sale had possession again. But not for long, as George Roberts ripped the ball and Doncaster moved it quickly to the opposite wing. Maliq Holden carried us up to the 5m line, before popping the ball back inside to Veainu, who grounded the ball over the line. 7-8. 

Dolly extended the lead with the conversion. 7-10

The hosts stole one back almost immediately as Obi Ene stormed over the line. Tom Curtis added the extras. 14-10. 

Semesa Rokoduguni puts Donny back in front with an absolutely outstanding intercept try. He snatched the ball and went the length before grounding under the posts. Dolly added the extras. 14-17. 

Shortly after, Dolly secured another three points for the Knights. 14-20. 

Tensions remained high as Sale claimed another score. The Knights defended the forwards well as they tried to drive over, but eventually the Sharks distributed the ball out wide and they went over in the corner. However, the conversion was missed. 19-20.

For the final two minutes, the forwards made countless carries to keep possession, before the clock went red and Bunting kicked the ball into touch. 

Team Lineups

Replacements