Davey’s ref rap as Edwards asks for more

Doncaster were kept winless by a 42-7 reverse that saw Leeds maintain their unbeaten home record and draw first blood in the battle for the Yorkshire Regiment Trophy.

Leeds had too much speed and guile for Doncaster, but referee Greg MacDonald’s decision to dismiss forward Adam Kettle on 20 minutes for an alleged spear tackle at the ruck left Knights director of rugby Davey fuming.

“We don’t really feel it was Adam’s fault. It was a situation he couldn’t get out of,” said Davey, who will take his view on the dismissal to Kettle’s RFU disciplinary hearing.

“After that, 14 men v 15 is always going to be tough and it’s hard to take anything out of the game.”

Joe Ford kicked the resulting penalty through the posts to make it 13-0 as Leeds dominated to temporarily move to third in the table.

They fell to fifth after the weekend’s results, and although they go into the break for the British and Irish Cup with a victory, head coach Diccon Edwards still wants more from his Carnegie team.

“There were elements of the performance last week against Newcastle that were really pleasing and that was the hugely disappointing thing that the scoreline got away from us,” he said.

“It is almost contrasting in that Friday’s performance showed glimpses of huge potential and to come away frustrated shows the mark of where we want to be as a team and as a group and that’s a real strength of ours that we want to be ruthless and maintain our appetite for improvement.

“Although the scoreline was fantastic in regards to the performance, there is still a lot to do.

“I was really pleased for Christian Georgiou, he was a late call up into the starting line up.

“He has been playing outstandingly well at Wharfedale.

“I thought Curtis Wilson also played well and he took his opportunity well with his second try and he is growing and is an example of a young player who is getting opportunities and he is really grabbing it.”