Doncaster R.F.C.
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| Full name | Doncaster Rugby Football Club | |
|---|---|---|
| Union | Rugby Football Union | |
| Nickname(s) | Knights | |
| Founded | 1875 | |
| Ground(s) | Castle Park (Capacity: 5,000) | |
| League(s) | National League 1 | |
| 2012–13 | 12th (demoted) | |
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| Official website | ||
| www.drfc.co.uk | ||
Doncaster Rugby Football Club are a rugby union club representing the town of Doncaster. The first XV are known as the "Doncaster Knights", and play in the National League 1. Being the most promoted side in English history has led to huge changes at the Castle Park ground and within the team structure.
Castle Park Conference and Function centre is a multi million pound development and is among the top conference venues in Doncaster, while remaining a supportive place for amateur rugby in the Borough. The club motto "rugby for all" sees amateur side Doncaster Phoenix compete at the same ground, as well as the ladies side Doncaster Demons and every age group from U7 to U17s.
The rise to National League One, from amateur status led to the rebranding of Doncaster RFC to Doncaster Knights for the 2006-07 Season, and that season saw their highest placed finish to date under Clive Griffiths as Director of Rugby. Doncaster also won the Yorkshire Cup.
After the departure of Griffiths to Worcester, the current DOR Lynn Howells joined the club on the eve of the 2007-08 season. Justin Bishop, signed from London Irish, had acted as DOR during the pre-season.
Howells inspired the Knights to almost repeat the 3rd place finish in his first season in charge, and has moulded the squad in his own image for the 2008-09 season. January 9 saw the opening of the new De Mulder-Lloyd Stand at Castle park, a £3m state of the art 1650 seater stand. Driven by CEO James Criddle and funded by Tony De Mulder and Steve Lloyd this has seen Castle Park develop into undoubtedly the best rugby facility in South Yorkshire.
The 2009- 10 Season saw the squad decimated by injuries, with no fewer than 15 unavailable players at one stage from a squad of 32. Despite this, and an inhuman 9 games in 27 days (of which they won 8) the Knights managed the Semi Final of the British and Irish Cup and a promotion Play Off finish. The result of the season being the defeat of Bristol at Castle Park, who like Leeds Carnegie before them underestimated the Knights as home.
The 2010-11 Season is an unknown, with a reduction in playing budget meaning a shuffling of the pack which saw several long serving players move on to other clubs. The captures of the likes of Tristan Roberts and Paul Devlin hint at a more creative side than the powerhouse forward game Doncaster are known for traditionally.
The home of the Knights, Castle Park, featured in and won "4 Weddings" and also hosted the Northern BBC TV news Coverage for Remembrance Day during 2009 showing how for the operational side of the club has come supporting the on the pitch success.
Current standings
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| Club | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Points For | Points Against | Points Difference | Try Bonus | Losing Bonus | Points | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Doncaster Knights | 22 | 18 | 0 | 4 | 711 | 343 | 368 | 15 | 3 | 90 | ||||||
| 2 | Rosslyn Park | 22 | 17 | 1 | 4 | 647 | 291 | 356 | 10 | 3 | 83 | ||||||
| 3 | Fylde | 22 | 14 | 0 | 8 | 635 | 511 | 124 | 15 | 4 | 75 | ||||||
| 4 | Esher | 21 | 14 | 0 | 8 | 584 | 490 | 94 | 8 | 4 | 68 | ||||||
| 5 | Blaydon | 21 | 11 | 3 | 7 | 548 | 390 | 158 | 10 | 4 | 64 | ||||||
| 6 | Coventry | 21 | 13 | 0 | 8 | 570 | 468 | 102 | 9 | 2 | 63 | ||||||
| 7 | Wharfedale | 22 | 13 | 0 | 9 | 535 | 589 | –54 | 7 | 1 | 60 | ||||||
| 8 | Old Albanian | 21 | 10 | 1 | 10 | 530 | 472 | 58 | 8 | 5 | 55 | ||||||
| 9 | Loughborough Students | 21 | 10 | 1 | 10 | 465 | 586 | –121 | 7 | 1 | 50 | ||||||
| 10 | Richmond | 20 | 8 | 0 | 12 | 476 | 482 | –6 | 9 | 5 | 46 | ||||||
| 11 | Blackheath | 22 | 8 | 2 | 12 | 472 | 6015 | –129 | 6 | 3 | 45 | ||||||
| 12 | Worthing Raiders | 22 | 6 | 0 | 16 | 542 | 690 | –148 | 11 | 8 | 43 | ||||||
| 13 | Henley Hawks | 22 | 7 | 2 | 13 | 411 | 496 | –85 | 5 | 4 | 41 | ||||||
| 14 | Tynedale | 21 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 479 | 673 | –194 | 8 | 3 | 39 | ||||||
| 15 | Cinderford | 19 | 7 | 1 | 11 | 387 | 528 | –141 | 5 | 2 | 37 | ||||||
| 16 | Hull Ionians | 22 | 2 | 1 | 19 | 361 | 743 | –382 | 3 | 2 | 15 | ||||||
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| Green background are promotion places. Pink background are relegation places. Updated: 8 February 2014 Source: NCA Rugby | |||||||||||||||||
Current squad
Note: Flags indicate national union as has been defined under IRB eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-IRB nationality.
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References
External links
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