Doncaster Knights: Coach demands better discipline as Knights prepare for Jersey trip

Sadly for the Knights, early-season leaders Cornish Pirates put paid to those hopes when picking up a bonus-point win in an entertaining game at Castle Park last time out.

“They are a good side and they’ve recruited really well but having said that I don’t think that we gave anywhere near the best account of ourselves,” said Boden, who played and coached at Jersey after leaving Castle Park in 2012.

“But the good thing about sport is that if you have performed poorly you always have the chance to put things right the next game you play and we are hoping to do that tomorrow.

“They are a young ambitious side with a lot of physicality so we are going to be a lot better than we were at the weekend.

“We beat them in the Championship Cup at home at the start of the month but it could have gone either way on the day so I don’t think we can go over there thinking we’ve beaten them once so we can beat them again.

“We’ve got to be thinking ‘what can we get better at?’ and concentrate on that.

“If we make the same mistakes we made on Saturday we won’t be successful. But if we get those things right and play well again in those areas we did against Pirates – and we played some great stuff at times - then we could find ourselves in a good place.”

Reflecting further on the defeat by Pirates, Boden added: “The errors I can handle, but the discipline I’m really not happy with.

“I don’t think that there was a lack of effort and the boys are trying.

“I don’t think I can question the heart and desire, but I do think I can question other aspects.

“We lost the physical battle and we’ve got to ask ourselves why was that the case because that is something we should be priding ourselves on.”