Doncaster Knights 19 Rotherham Titans 25: Knights are on edge of the abyss after derby disaster

Doncaster are spiralling towards the exit door of the Championship, to a drop from £300,000 central funding to effectively nothing, and from a semi-professional existence to what director of rugby Clive Griffiths describes as, with all due respect, village rugby.

It is a dire scenario for the Knights and not too far a stretch to call the demotion from English rugby’s second tier to its third as catastrophic.

That is the reality that faces them if they do not dig themselves out of this gaping hole in the next four games.

They are five points adrift of Jersey, having played a game more. That trip to the Channel Islands on the penultimate weekend of the season is now enormous; life or death for the Knights.

Matt Challinor gave them something to cling to from this South Yorkshire derby on Saturday, with a drive to the line that set up a straightforward penalty for Dougie Flockhart to rescue a losing bonus point.

But as game as they were in the first half in establishing a slender 9-6 lead, they were limited and rarely troubled the Titans try line.

Rotherham required only one burst from Curtis Wilson in the second half to set up Michael Doneghan for their first try. Eight minutes and two more scores later, the game was over.

Rotherham may be in turmoil of their own off the pitch as they seek a third head coach in four months, and know that if they do not get that appointment right it can all turn sour quickly as Doncaster have found.

But they retain enough guile, heart and ability to remain established members of the Championship scene.

Whether Doncaster do is in the hands of their players over the final month of the season.

“We’re fighting for our lives, we’ve got four games left and I can’t see any of our lads downing tools,” said Doncaster captain Challinor.

“It’s by no means done and dusted. All we can do is dust ourselves off and come back next week but it does become a bit monotonous saying that every week.

“We’re downhearted now, we’re frustrated with how we’ve played and the result but we’re up for the battle.

“That point could be vital because we’ve still got to play Jersey.

“If we’re losing to teams that are superior to us then you can live with it, so it’s even more frustrating when we know what firepower we’ve got out wide and know what rugby we can play, but we can’t put it together in a match. That’s infuriating.”

Challinor was one of a handful of players on a boggy pitch who have represented both clubs, emphasising the strength of rugby in South Yorkshire, and how reliant the two clubs are on each other.

This was Rotherham’s fourth successive win over their local rivals, and while they might not admit it openly, relegation for Doncaster would cost them two big games next season and a rivalry they relish.

“For Yorkshire rugby, it is big to have Leeds, Rotherham and ourselves in a strong second division,” admitted Challinor, who crossed the divide three summers ago.

“It’s a personal incentive for me, but it goes out the window when you look at the bigger picture for this club.”

Doncaster will be kicking themselves that they did not make better of a stiff breeze in the first half. Flockhart kicked three penalties to Garry Law’s two but the amount of try-scoring chances could be counted on the fingers of one shivering hand.

Flockhart and Law exchanged further penalties at the start of the second half before Doncaster’s hitherto effective kicking game began to crack and Rotherham exploited it to the full.

A box-kick from Knights scrum-half Joe Bedford found its way into the hands of Wilson, who set off at pace, feeding Eamonn Sheridan and then Doneghan who sprinted 60 metres down the right.

Law missed the conversion but within two minutes Connor Braid’s kick was returned with interest by the impressive Dan Sanderson and Sheridan eventually crossed.

Referee Matthew Carley, the man who condemned the Headingley pitch by ordering Leeds and Plymouth to go to uncontested scrums two months ago, then gave a very quick decision on a penalty try with Doncaster guilty of collapsing a rolling maul.

Doncaster somehow salvaged a losing bonus when Adam Kettle burst forward from a quick-tap penalty and fed fellow ex-Titan Challinor to cross but their urgency was too late. “It’s just a five-minute lapse and it’s knocked us on our backside again,” said Challinor.

Griffiths was left to lament: “We put ourselves in a fantastic position with 25 minutes to go.

“We had fantastic field position and were poised to put some really good pressure on and we failed to do that, and that’s our own fault.

“It’s happening in a lot of games and is why the club is in the position it’s in. All you can do is keep going. These boys will keep fighting.”

Doncaster Knights: Keating, Flockhart, Mama, Luke, Sharp, Braid, Bedford (Hallam 74); T Davies (Brown 52), Buckley (Sowrey 66), Cronin (McGovern 66), Challinor, Parsons (Smith 57), Kettle, Hafu, Planchant (Boyde 71). Unused replacement: Lewis.

Rotherham Titans: Law, Doneghan, Sheridan, Nonu, Wilson, McKinney, Mulchrone (Williams 67); Gadd, Stagg, Denman, Thomas, Sanderson, Makafi, Kirwan, Rieder (Pearce 59). Unused replacements: Hannan, R Davies, Kilbane, Patrick, Blackett.

Referee: M Carley (RFU).

Departing leader Codling proud of his Titans

Alex Codling said the performance and character of his players filled him with huge pride after a trying week for everyone at Clifton Lane.

The 39-year-old one-time England lock announced this week that he would be quitting at the end of the season due to personal reasons.

It is believed the decision is not as black and white as that with differences of opinion over the way forward for the club, between himself and the board, having played some part.

However the split has come about, it has left Rotherham searching for a third head coach in four months.

All parties want to look to the future and, with that in mind, it was an encouraging display from Rotherham, who withstood first-half pressure to run away with victory in the second.

Codling said: “I had no doubts about the players, they’re a fantastic bunch of players and this result says everything about them as a group. They deserved the win and all the credit.

“They’ll never switch off, we’ve worked harder this week than any other week.

“The whole aim is that with four games left, three at home and one away, we finish the season with some real momentum.

“They’ve given me a huge amount of pride.

“It’s always this time of year when in mid-table you can drop off but we’re going to keep pushing and pushing for the players and the supporters and for the club.”

On his team’s performance in an attritional South Yorkshire derby, Codling added: “I was disappointed with the first 40, we gave too many silly penalties on their line, but second half I thought some of the rugby was outstanding in very tough conditions.

“The only frustration is we left one try on the table, but, in a local derby with Doncaster fighting for their lives, it’s a great win.

“In conditions like this it’s all about the basics and I think the scrum did really well. With the breeze at your backs in the second half, if you get a bit of field position you can turn possession into points and that’s what we did.

“You’re going to make mistakes and put yourself under pressure which we did a couple of times in the first half. I know it was dicey underfoot but it wasn’t blowing a gale so we could try and play the way we wanted and it paid off.”

Tommy McGee, the Wharfedale coach and former Leeds prop, is one name in the frame for the top job at Rotherham.