KNIGHTS PRODUCE RESILIENT DISPLAY IN PRE-SEASON DEFEAT

The Knights produced a spirited display in their opening pre-season match against a strong Sale Sharks outfit.

The home side came away with a 31-0 win, but were made to work for the victory with a resilient Knights defence throughout.

The match began at full force with a Sharks’ try after three minutes with the home side pushing the maul deep towards the Knights’ try line before Cameron Neild barged over.

Spectators would’ve expected that to be signs of things to come, but the Knights had other ideas. Some tough tackling from the forwards kept the Sharks’ attacks at bay and began to frustrate the home side with a scuffle resulting in a yellow card to a player from each side.

A number of scrums and line outs filled the half, as both sides tried to dominate possession, with England International Chris Ashton trying his luck with a chip and run down the left flank only for Tom James to be alert and superbly clear the danger and kick for touch.

The first half ended similar to how it started, as Josh Strauss drived over after the Sharks’ pressure eventually prevailed.

Clive Griffiths’ side came out in the second half with a continued battling attitude and were nearly rewarded for their efforts on a number of occasions.

Firstly, Curtis Langdon broke the Sharks’ defensive line, before offloading to Cameron Cowell, who was only stopped by a last ditch tackle.

The Knights found themselves in a similar position with a driving burst from Charlie Foley after some great play, however a strong tackle from the Sharks defence prevented a try.

For a slice of the second half it was Doncaster that asked the questions of the opposition defence, however each time the home side held strong and pushed the Knights back.

The Premiership side continued to attack though and added a further three tries, Neild grabbing his second try of the night, while Will Cliff and Ashton also scored.

The Knights left the field with their heads held high and in a performance that will hold them in good stead for the games to come.

Match Statistics

Knights 15: Paul Jarvis 14. Curtis Wilson 13. Lloyd Hayes 12. Elliott Creed 11. Tyson Lewis 10. Charlie Foley 9. Tom James 1. Robin Hislop 2. Ben Hunter 3. Joe Sproston 4. Morgan Eames 5. Nick Civetta 6. Sam Jones 7. Michael Hills (capt)

Replacements: Richard List, Toby Williams, Curtsi Langdon, Iestyn Merriman (Trialist), Matt Challinor, Tom Calladine, Ruaridh Dawson, Henry Seniloli, Seth Adams, Ben Leng (Trialist),Mat Clark, Cameron Cowell, Steve McColl, Sam Pocklington, James Wright

Sale Sharks 15: 15.Chris Ashton; 14.Byron McGuigan, 13.Sam James, 12.Luke James, 11.Marland Yarde; 10. AJ MacGinty, 9.Will Cliff; 1.Alexandru Tarus, 2.Cameron Neild, 3.Joe Jones, 4.Josh Beaumont, 5.James Phillips, 6.George Nott, 7.Jono Ross (capt.), 8.Josh Strauss.

Replacements: Rob Webber, Marc Jones, Ross Harrison, WillGriff John, Andrei Ostrikov, Bryn Evans, Matt Sturgess, Mark Jennings, Denny Solomona, Johnny Leota, Arron Reed, Paolo Odogwu