Doncaster Knights v Chinnor: Crowd can prove big help as Knights look to realise their Champ Rugby ambitions
Doncaster Knights captain Ben Morgan is urging the rugby-supporting public to come out in force again tonight as the South Yorkshire club look for their home support to power them to a bounce-back victory again.
A crowd nearing 2,500 saw Doncaster beat Prem Rugby promotion favourites Worcester Warriors in a dramatic finale to a clash of two Champ Rugby heavyweights last time out.
But just as the players of Doncaster Knights need to lift themselves for every game, so those same men need a similar attitude from the fanbase - continuing tonight when Chinnor come to Castle Park.
It may not have the glamour of a Worcester, but if Doncaster are to achieve their ambition of reaching the Prem then every game matters, and every bum on seat counts.
And just as Knights fans roared their team past the Warriors a fortnight ago, so they are needed again tonight against Chinnor.
Morgan said: “To be fair the home crowd is building for us, it’s getting bigger and bigger, louder and louder and we can’t thank them enough for coming out and cheering us on.
“But we need them every week, for every single game.”
Knights go into the game off the back of a 36-32 defeat at Bedford Blues last Friday night.
Although a defeat, they at least picked up two bonus points for finishing within seven and scoring four tries.
But with just two wins and a draw from their opening five games, Knights kick-off round six of the Champ Rugby season in eighth place of 14 teams, two shy of the top-six play-off positions which is their minimum requirement.
Chinnor might be a relative newcomer to the second-tier scene but under former England No 8 Nick Easter they have already ruffled a few feathers, beating Doncaster last season and thrashing Coventry last month.
And Morgan is wary. “You take every game exactly the same, in this league anyone can beat anyone,” he said.