Doncaster Knights to tackle Wasps in pre-season opener

Knights finished second behind Ealing Trailfinders in last season’s Championship but both clubs were ineligible for promotion because their respective grounds did not meet Premiership criteria.

Knights have made their intentions for this season clear by seeking planning permission to increase the capacity of Castle Park to more than 10,000.

So this could be the season that sees Knights become a Premiership team – we should all support the boys and be the 16th player! It would be fantastic for the new city of Doncaster to have a Premiership rugby team.

Last season Covid wreaked havoc with pre-season preparations and just one warm-up match was played.

Knights went on to lose three of their first nine league games before winning their remaining 11 fixtures so those early losses might have cost them the title. The other major factor was the lack of bonus points won.

Knights have got every chance of hitting the ground running this time though. The majority of the squad (60%) have re-signed while nine new players have arrived at the club over the summer.

Karl Garside, Jared Cardew, Will Varnell, George Simpson, Robbie Smith, Ehize Ehizode, Mak Wilson, Sam Daly and Maurice Nwakor are the new additions to date and it will be interesting to see what impact they make during pre-season.

More additions are likely to cover injury, increase competition for places and keep the team fresh.

Director of rugby Steve Boden has kept to his plan of recruiting young, eager players who have demonstrated great promise.

The boss has chosen candidates who may have previously been undervalued elsewhere and who see a move to the Knights as a positive move for their rugby careers. The aim is to mould them into a strong Doncaster team and help those individuals go on and play at even higher level of the game.

It’s a recurring debate each pre-season whether to play against more challenging opposition and risk potential injuries or opt for less challenging opposition when the risk of injury will be less.

Knights have opted for the former this year and fingers crossed it pays dividends.