Doncaster Knights 29 Moseley 21: Goss try crucial as Knights get off the mark

Doncaster’s first win of the season, producing the maximum of five points, illustrated that the squad assembled by director of rugby Brett Davey is beginning to act coherently and profitably.

Indeed, three of their tries during a highly effective first half performance at Castle Park were scored by new signings, flanker David Bradford, full-back David McIlwaine and winger Michael Keating.

These tries on 16, 20 and 38 minutes enabled Doncaster to build a 22-7 lead at the interval against a Moseley side which contained several familiar faces returning to South Yorkshire.

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Now under the direction of former Rotherham coaches Kevin Maggs and Craig West, who prefer the tried and tested to the unknown, Moseley picked two former Doncaster and Rotherham backs, Anthony Carter and Brad Hunt, and, in the pack, Craig Voisey, Anton O’Donnell and Colin Quigley, front-row specialists who had been employed at Clifton Lane.

Their reappearance in the region failed to deliver a lasting impact, although Moseley’s strong second half recovery, during which they dominated possession and territory, did threaten to inflict permanent damage.

However, this improvement, glimpsed just before the break when flanker Ben Pons charged through Doncaster’s defence to score, surprisingly could not be converted into match-winning points.

Despite scoring a second and third try in the 56th and 79th minutes through flanker Michael Maltman and replacement centre Andrew Reay, cutting the deficit to 29-19, Moseley failed, fatally, to take advantage of the countless promising positions created deep in Doncaster’s 22.

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Considering the relentless hammering their territory experienced, Doncaster can be grateful that earlier they had ruined a Moseley attack which appeared to be fruitful.

Thankfully from Doncaster’s point of view, centre Ollie Goss, sensing the danger, reacted quickly to intercept a pass. Instantly, he saw the opportunity to increase his team’s authority, and by running more than 50 metres to score the Knights’ fourth try, Goss not only seized a bonus point but importantly stretched the lead to 27-7.

With fly-half Tom Luke kicking his third conversion to add to his earlier penalty, Doncaster were heading comfortably towards their first victory following defeats by Bristol and, narrowly, by Cornish Pirates.

Within seconds, though, their defence failed to cope with the restart – an error capitalised on by Maltman, scoring Moseley’s second try.

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Nevertheless, even though Moseley’s forwards continued to control the ball and create sustained pressure, they lacked the ruthlessness to break through again until 79 minutes.

A combination of stubborn defence by Doncaster’s pack, influenced by the durability of 37-year-old Kiwi Glen Kenworthy, now in his seventh season at Castle Park, plus Moseley’s mistakes and weak finishing, ensured Doncaster’s survival.

After consecutive Championship losses, this was a most satisfactory outcome, but far less satisfactory was the inability of the Knights to counter-attack throughout the second half with the exception of Goss’s try.

This problem was highlighted by captain and scrum-half Chris Hallam, making a solid contribution in his first full game after an absence of five months with a shoulder injury. “Obviously, we want to perform, but it’s about the win and we got it. We were a lot better in the first half, and we need to work on how to get out of our own half when we are under pressure,” he said.

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“We are progressing, it wasn’t pretty but our defence held out for a hell of a long time. It has probably taken a game too long for the new boys to settle in, but I know they will grow and grow.

“I’m not worried. Some people were stressed out about the second half performance, but I know we’ve got the armoury and defensively we were good.

“So, I’m pretty happy, but not that happy that it got that close.”

Hallam’s superior, Brett Davey, switches his attention to preparing his squad for the game at Nottingham on Wednesday evening in the first round of the British and Irish Cup. This is followed by the Championship game at Castle Park against London Scottish on Saturday.

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“We’ve improved with every performance and defensively we looked far better. But we score a try and then 10 seconds later concede one, so that’s the mental error we have in our game.

“But when we tighten up and concentrate, we’ll be a decent side. We know we are not the finished article, and nowhere near it, but to get five points is a really pleasing result.

“Our forwards’ coach, Kenworthy, has done a lot of good work and we are seeing the benefit. Doncaster have tended to have forwards who’ve lumbered in a straight line, but suddenly our boys are running side to side and they’re difficult to tackle.

“The Cup is an opportunity for a few players to put their hands up, so there’ll be a few changes.”

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Doncaster Knights: McIlwaine, Flockhart, Goss, Gidlow (Whitehead 63), Keating, Luke, Hallam, Corsar (An Brown 63), Boden (Yeandle 63), Al Brown (Burke-Flynn 70), Kenworthy, Parsons, Challinor, Bradford (Kettle 55), Boyde.

Moseley: Carter, Robinson, Adams (Reay 59), Hunt, Davies, Brown (Glynn 62), Voisey (Gadd 50), Protherough, O’Donnell, Sanderson, Spivey, Maltman, Pons (Mason 55), Ellery.

Referee: S Lee.