Doncaster Knights' futures on the line after Ampthill drubbing
Head coach Darren Fearn concedes futures are on the line when Doncaster Knights return to Castle Park tonight, desperate to restore the fans’ faith after a lost season for the ambitious Champ Rugby club.
Any faint hopes the South Yorkshire club had of gatecrashing the second-tier play-offs were brutally erased by a 61-17 drubbing at Ampthill last Saturday.
It leaves the 10th-placed Knights 12 points adrift of the top six with only 20 points available, meaning there is effectively only pride left to play for.
The club had already announced in January that it was scaling back from a full-time operation next season to a hybrid model, with the door to the Prem which was only ever barely ajar, now practically shut by news that the league will be ring-fenced next season.
But nevertheless, Fearn admits players are playing for their futures.
“Naturally, it’s professional, competitive sport, the second tier of English rugby.
“Opportunities come when you perform consistently.”
The Scarborough-born former Newcastle and Sale forward, in his first season as head coach at this level, knows he is not immune from criticism either.
“I just take every game as it comes,” he told The Yorkshire Post.
“I’m still excited by where this group is going both on and off the field. I know there’s been a lot of changes, a lot of shifting dynamics, and I’m excited to take it forward these next four games and keep going after it. That’s been the same since the start of the season and it doesn’t change.”
After the nature of last week’s defeat, Fearn says the team owe the fans a performance against a Richmond side who are one of just four teams below them in the league.
“Technically there’s still an opportunity but ultimately it’s a choice: do we turn up and feel sorry for ourselves off the back of last week or do we try and respond,” he asked.
“We’ve got three of the last four games at home - we’ve got a support base and people who care a lot about the club, on and off the field. There’s a lot to play for from a pride point of view.
“The minimum is you compete. I’m doing everything I can to make sure we go out there and put on a performance on Friday night.
“There was a performance the week before against Hartpury where we were defending a lead with 13 men, we kept a team with some shark attackers out and then went the length of the field to score the try that got us five points and deny them anything.
“But consistency is something we’ve lacked. It’s important we try and get that now from these final four games.”