Knights eager to ensure first win is no fluke

Doncaster head coach Clive Griffiths believes that consistency will be the key to the Knights’ fortunes this season.

The side promoted from National One last term bucked the trend of recent years by getting their campaign off to a flying start.

Doncaster, who are tipped by many to be relegation candidates, burst out of the gates at Castle Park last Saturday and added to beleaguered Plymouth’s woes by claiming a 27-6 win.

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It was the sort of performance and victory that will have raised awareness in the Championship that the Knights won’t be the pushovers many expect.

As they arrived in Jersey yesterday ahead of a game against the Channel Islanders, Griffiths has tasked his players with proving that performance was not a flash in the pan.

“There were a lot of positives from last Saturday but it’s early days yet,” said Griffiths.

“We know now that if we play like that we are a match for most in this division.

“The question is can we repeat that week after week.

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“That consistency comes from winning, comes from playing hard and it comes from preparing well.

“And we do that here.”

Doncaster will have none of the six Leicester Tigers players that they have signed on dual-registration available today.

While Griffiths did not see fit to parachute any of them to face a Jersey side he expects to provide a stern physical test, he does see the deal as a great boost for the South Yorkshire club.

“It’s a great club to be involved with and it’s been a deal we’ve been working towards for a long time, with a lot of work going on behind the scenes,” he said.

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Lee Blackett is looking for a reaction from his Rotherham Titans players as they head to Bedford following their opening-weekend loss at London Scottish.

“There were lots of positives from the Scottish game and there were some obvious work-ons too,” said Blackett, who steered the Titans to a top-four finish last season.

“The boys have worked hard in training this week on certain aspects of our game and we would like to see some improvements as a result.

“But we know Bedford is always a tough place to visit; we won down there last season for the first time in about seven years and we need to try and back that up. We know how dangerous a side they are and we’ll go down there giving them the full respect they deserve.”