Doncaster Knights: Clive Griffiths hopes to send fans home with smiles on faces after ‘pretty dismal season’

Doncaster Knights bring down the curtain on their 2018-19 Championship campaign at Castle Park on Saturday (3pm) desperate to beat fifth-placed Cornish Pirates.
Clive GriffithsClive Griffiths
Clive Griffiths

“In addition to wanting to try and improve on tenth place we want to see everyone with a smile on their face at the end of the game,” said director of rugby Clive Griffiths.

“It’s been a pretty dismal season for the club and no one is trying to hide behind that fact.

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“We aren’t where we wanted to be at the start of the season and we need to get some credibility back and at least finish the season on a high.

“But we know we’ve got a big task on our hands because Pirates will travel up here boosted by a good win over Yorkshire Carnegie last weekend.

“It was a good result for them because Carnegie have been one of the form teams in 2019 - though we should have beaten them the week before at Headingley.

“I know what we are capable of when we get things right and we are definitely capable of beating Pirates but we have to stop making the sort of horrendous mistakes when we’ve got the football which has been costing us.”

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“Game between the two clubs have traditionally been entertaining affairs and hopefully Saturday’s game will be the same despite the forecast.”

Knights, for whom long-serving prop Richard List will be playing his last game for the club prior to taking over as player-coach of Doncaster Phoenix, will lack both fly-half Sam Olver and prop Charlie Beech.

Both men picked up knocks in Saturday’s defeat against Coventry and join such as Josh Tyrell and Ollie Stedman on the sidelines.

“Injuries have been one of the stories of our season,” said Griffiths.