Doncaster Knights captain Ben Murphy trusting his instincts to get Champ Rugby hopefuls back to winning ways

Underneath him, the leadership group at the aspirant Champ Rugby outfit, is a little greener.

Darren Fearn, who was appointed to succeed Joe Ford as head coach in the summer, has experience in that capacity at university and England Students level, but leading a team in the second tier is new to him.

The captain that was appointed last season is also just a year into the role, but Ben Murphy believes he is leading by example and quick to learn from his mistakes.

Twelve months ago, as Doncaster started the season inconsistently, their novice on-field lieutenant admits to being a little out of his depth.

“Last year was a big learning year for me,” says the 29-year-old second-row forward.

“Those first couple of games with the armband weren’t my best games of rugby. I was trying to be the perfect leader, not too hot-headed, more level-headed, and I got stuck in the middle.

“I soon realised it’s about what you feel in the moment and just go with it.”

Seeking the guidance of the coaches around him and the members of the leadership group on the pitch – all of whose joint interests were best survived by their captain performing to the best of his ability – helped.

“I was learning how to be captain, so I spoke to the coaches day after day,” says the Welshman, whose dad was president of the local rugby club in the town he grew up in, meaning he was never going to go into anything else.

“I spoke to the leadership group here, my parents, my partner.

“Looking back I was probably over-thinking things.

"They were saying you got picked to be our captain for a reason, just go with your instincts and you won’t go far wrong.

“I’m not the loudest leader, I tend to be someone who speaks when I think it’s important to speak, if there’s a time when I don’t need to speak then I’ll leave it.

“In this sport there’s a lot of talking done when it’s not needed, so I do my talking on the pitch.”

Murphy steadily grew more comfortable in the role, and by February had enough of a handle on it to lead the team to a remarkable 11-game winning streak to finish the season, one that rescued what had looked a lost campaign and gave plenty of hope for the season ahead.

“It was around the second round of Premiership Cup games, something clicked where we just focused on the game ahead of us,” he reflects.

“Maybe earlier in the season we were guilty of looking too far ahead and skipped over things that were necessary for the team.

“We started to connect off the pitch as much as we did on the pitch and that helped too.

“We’re lucky that we’ve had a massive core of players stay, that always helps in carrying that momentum forward.”

What happened on the opening night of the rebranded Champ Rugby season, suggests that momentum has stalled. After a three-month pre-season leading into a campaign that didn’t begin until the first weekend in October, Doncaster – a team that have not been shy in declaring their ambitions to challenge for promotion to the Premiership – fell flat with defeat at Nottingham.

“With the weather coming in we changed how we would play normally,” says Murphy when looking back on the 26-8 defeat that left them at the foot of the embryonic Champ Rugby table.

“It was a strong wind against us in the first half and we kept them to 12 points, but I think second half, Notts controlled the weather a lot better and we lost control as a team.”

Part of his maturing as captain, though, is learning from past experiences.

“Obviously after a loss it’s always tough to take,” he adds. “On a Monday it’s having that day to go through what went wrong, some boys react differently to others. It’s taking that day to go through it and criticise, it’s nothing personal, it’s professional, it’s all about making the team better. We put it to bed and then by the end of the day we’re ready to look ahead.

“A loss hurts, but as long as you learn from it, it can be good for the team.”

Today’s visitors Cambridge are a semi-pro side Doncaster should dismiss relatively easily. In a fortnight’s time they welcome Worcester, the team reborn from the financial collapse of the Premiership Warriors three seasons ago. But another lesson Murphy has learned is not being distracted by what’s on the horizon.

“Worcester are down here in a couple of weeks, I’m sure they’ll bring a big following and it will be a good occasion,” says Murphy.

“But we’ve got analysts at the club whose job it is to look into the future. As a team and as a group of players, we have to look at what’s next and nothing else.

“We’re not looking beyond Cambridge.”