Doncaster Knights: ‘We’re fighting for our lives’, says Griffiths

After winning three of their opening four matches following promotion back to the Championship, the Knights have lost five straight league games, including last week’s 24-3 defeat at Nottingham.

And director of rugby Griffiths says there is plenty of work to be done in the New Year to avoid an immediate return to National One.

“We are in a relegation battle now and we are fighting for our lives,” said Griffiths.

“Having said that a couple of wins would take a lot of the pressure off.”

The Knights return to action on Sunday against local rivals Rotherham Titans.

The Welshman admitted he did not expect to lose, and so heavily, to Nottingham.

And he says a change of approach may be needed to stabilise the Knights’ form.

He said: “Much as I like us to play an entertaining brand of rugby and entertain the crowd at Castle Park, we’ve got to get the balance right.

“We certainly contributed to our downfall by trying to be too ambitious in the wrong areas and generally making too many handling errors.

“I couldn’t fault the boys for effort and we defended well for much of the game.

“The year of 2014 has been a massive one for the club and we wanted to end it on a winning note, but it wasn’t to be.”