Doncaster Knights: Evergreen Colin Quigley still relishing playing big role in Knights' season

Despite being 39 in May, Quigley again held his own against a star-studded Newcastle pack when coming on as a second half replacement in Friday’s 34-10 Championship defeat at Kingston Park.

Quigley felt that Knights acquitted themselves well on the night, saying: “I thought there were a lot of positives we can take from the game going forward.”

Knights return to action at Castle Park on Saturday for the first time in six weeks with the visit of Nottingham.

“I’ve always enjoyed playing against Nottingham over the years,” said Quigley.

“They’ve always got a strong pack and some good backs and like to play an expansive game as we do and they are generally entertaining games to be involved in.

“Although they are only one place above us I rate them as a very good side.

"They showed that when running Ealing close – a game I expected them to win incidentally as they had beaten them on the last two occasions they’ve met.

“It’s obviously a game we need to win because we aren’t where we want to be in the league and we need to start showing some consistency during a run of games against teams just above us.

“Although I don’t want to use it as an excuse, it is a fact that we’ve been badly hit by injuries this season and that has had an impact on results and performances.

“The two seasons when we finished in the top-four we didn’t have a lot of injuries and were able to keep a settled side.

“Hopefully, that will be the case between now and the end of the season and with players coming back from injury we can kick on and start climbing the table.”

Quigley himself has spent more time than he would liked on the treatment table this season but that has not made him question his future within the game.

“You are a long time retired and I want to play as long as I can,” he said.

“Training gets a bit harder every year and recovery takes a bit longer but I still love going out there on a Saturday and testing myself because I still think I can do it.

“I absolutely love playing for Doncaster and would like to still be here next year but the club might want to go in a different direction. If that is the case I will still look to keep playing at a high a level as possible.”

Steve Boden, not director of rugby Clive Griffiths, will be in charge of putting next season’s squad together and Quigley thinks he will do a good job as head coach.

“Steve has brought a lot of energy to the job – though don’t get me wrong I loved working with Kendo (Glen Kenworthy) and we enjoyed a lot of success when he was the forwards’ coach – and he is a fantastic coach,” he added.

“It’s also been great to have (backs and skills coach) Frannie Cummins back.

“Griff will be leaving at the end of the season but is still bringing the same energy to the role and he absolutely loves his rugby.

"I’ve never worked with anyone as passionate about the game, or who puts in so much time.”