Frustration grows as Doncaster Knights continue to press the self-destruct button

Saturday was another disappointing performance, full of basic mistakes, some dreadful defence and misdemeanours that you would ordinarily not associate with a Clive Griffiths side.

Perhaps the most damning was seeing them twice marched back a further 10m for questioning a referee’s decision; Coventry were already up for this and needed no second invite.

Furthermore, Knights twice failed to correctly deal with restarts having just scored points, on both occasions losing momentum, and they gifted their opponents – who had not won away from home all season – two tries through rudimentary errors.

It has become a common theme this season and it is perhaps no surprise Doncaster find themselves in 10th spot ahead of their final game of the season when Cornish Pirates arrive at Castle Park on Saturday.

Still, it is frustrating as when they fire – as they sporadically do, not least when fighting back here from 24-8 down to 31-28 – they look as commanding as when they reached the Championship final three years ago.

No 8 Rory Pitman was one of those players who looked dangerous with ball in hand and he said: “Even though we went down in the first half and gave a few silly tries away, I still thought we were going to win it.

“But we’d score, then drop the kick-off and things like that. Against a team like Coventry you can’t give them those easy wins.

“We left ourselves with too much to do at the end. It’s just disappointing. We’ve worked so hard the last few weeks and rectified some things but I think it’s the same old story, really.

“We’re lacking in a few areas and individually we need to look at ourselves.”

It was a third defeat in four games and, at this time of year, with no threat of relegation or hope of promotion, there is always an air of early transition.

Former Cardiff player Pitman, 29, insisted that could not be used as an excuse.

“It is the most difficult thing – there’s players leaving, players coming and everything else – but we’ve tried to block that out,” he said.

“We’ve said we’re a band of brothers and, believe me, I’ve been involved in no tighter team in my life – they really are like a family here – so I don’t think that was the case today. But silly, individual errors mounted up and cost us the game.”

Those errors were spectacular; alert Coventry prop James Gibbons was able to score after pouncing on a ball at the back of a ruck and score as Doncaster scrum-half Dwayne Polataivao waited to clear.

Later, Ryan Burrows – who joins the visitors in the summer – threw a needlessly panicked pass that Will Maisey snaffled for a simple 40m run-in.

Fly-half Maisey finished with a personal haul of 21 points while elated Coventry – finally getting an away with at the 15th attempt of trying – finished with five tries.

Former Doncaster centre Will Owen, hooker Darren Dawidiuk and, in stoppage-time, full-back David Halaifonua all crossed.

Doncaster’s hopes of a reprieve were not aided when, 24-11 behind at the break, Paul Jarvis getting their sole try, prop Robin Hislop was sin-binned for a swinging arm in the first minute of the second half.

Too often they were ponderous and predictable in attack although losing fly-half Sam Olver to a shoulder injury in the 21st minute did not help matters.

Still, the introduction of veteran forwards Matt Challinor, Michael Hills and, in particular, Colin Quigley, fired them up.

James Malcolm and Quigley benefited with drive-over tries and Tom James rounded off Cameron Cowell’s break at the death.

Dougie Flockhart missed the conversion attempt to see a second bonus point disappear.

Doncaster Knights: Cowell; Flockhart, Roberts, Foley, Jarvis; Olver (Wilson 21), Polataivao (James 55); Hislop (List 80), Hunter (Malcolm 63), Beech (Quigley 54), Eames, Civetta, Burrows, Calladine, (Hills 52) Pitman (List 44-54).

Coventry: Halaifonua; A Bulumakau (J Bulumakau 64), Stevens, Owen, Trimble; Maisey, White (Kessell 53); Gibbons, Dawidiuk (Tolmie 68), Brighouse (Boulton 46), Russell (Oram 59), Woolford, Nutley (Voss 40), Ram, Adams.

Referee: N Chivers (RFU).