Doncaster Knights players praised for response to major change at club
Darren Fearn has praised the players of Doncaster Knights for the way they have handled themselves since news broke of the club’s decision to scale back from a full-time operation next season.
While officials at the club are bullish that the hybrid model they will adopt next season will not harm their long-term ambitions of playing in the Prem, it is the players who will be most affected. Any players on full-time contracts will have them honoured next season, but others will have to negotiate part-time deals and find other sources of income, or another club. But on the pitch, they have started to pick up.
In the first game after the news came through they drew at Cambridge, but then turned on the style a week later to thrash their long-time second-tier rivals Cornish Pirates at Castle Park. Last Saturday they came within two minutes of claiming the prized scalp of Worcester Warriors.
Head coach Fearn said: “I can’t knock the players for the way they’ve reacted and how they’re competing, and we’re hoping to keep pushing on.
“When we’re on it and competing hard, we’re a good group and we can take on anyone.
“We talk a lot about winning all the scraps. You can go out with all the intention in the world but if you’re not winning those little battles - whether it’s the breakdown, in the air, or collisions - you’re not going to get the outcome. What we’ve seen this last couple of weeks is we’re consistently winning more of those and if we continue to do that, we’ll ultimately win the game.”
They will need all of that on Saturday when another established rival in Bedford Blues come to Castle Park.
Fearn’s old team are currently second, but for all their struggles this year, it has not necessarily been against the big clubs that have caused them problems, with Doncaster having sent Worcester, Coventry and Pirates packing from South Yorkshire.
“It’s the big occasions, the big events,” said Fearn (inset), whose side sit 10th. “Against other teams we’ve maybe not taken the opportunities, but we have been doing against the bigger teams. It’s second place coming to Castle Park and it naturally brings that competition out of you.”