Doncaster Knights strengthen hold on third place with fine win at Bedford

Doncaster Knights boosted their Championship play-off hopes with their third consecutive league victory, a 40-22 success at Bedford.
Dougie Flockhart: 'Telling contribution'Dougie Flockhart: 'Telling contribution'
Dougie Flockhart: 'Telling contribution'

Knights not only held on to third spot but their bonus point win saw them open up an eight-point gap on the chasing pack with other results going their way.

Although director of rugby Clive Griffiths would have settled for any sort of win ahead of what had been predicted to be a tough test for Knights, he was delighted with the way victory was achieved.

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He was full of praise for the quality of Knights’ attacking play as they raced into a 31-5 lead in the first half.

“I don’t know if any Doncaster team has previously scored 40 points at Bedford but our first half attacking play, which produced five tries, was a joy to watch,” he enthused.

“The quality of the build-up to the tries and the execution was particularly pleasing.”

Despite the fact that Knights led 31-12 at the break, Griffiths knew Bedford were capable of hitting back in the second half.

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“We were under pressure at times and they got back to within nine points, but two penalties – one from long-range by Dougie Flockhart - stretched our lead to 15,” he said.

“Dougie, as he did last season, made a telling contribution with his goal-kicking as well as setting up a first-half try for Michael Heaney with a clever kick.”

Griffiths also praised the contribution of the bench.

“Irrespective of how long they were on they all did a magnificent job,” he told The Star.

Fly-half Simon Humberstone faces a spell on the sidelines after suffering a concussion injury.