Dons rack up the tries as they seal monster 120-0 win and set new club record
Steve Hossack reports on a memorable day for Doncaster RLFC
Doncaster RLFC posted a club-record 120-0 Betfred Championship victory over struggling North Wales Crusaders at the Club Doncaster Sports Village as they kept on course for a top-four finish.
The Dons climbed above Widnes into fifth place on points difference after scoring a record 20 tries with on-loan full-back Harvey Horne, stand-in stand-off Tom Whitehead and hooker Connor Jones, who only played half a game, all bagging a hat-trick.
Scrum-half Connor Robinson also touched down as well as converting all 20 tries to finish with a club-record tally of 44 points. He also passed the 1,000 points mark for the club as well as the 2,000 career points.
The Dons showed six changes to their starting line-up from the side which beat third-placed Oldham 46-18 last time out with centre Reece Lyne and prop Gadwin Springer both making their return after lengthy lay-offs as did centre Brad Hey who started on the bench.
The Dons ended a one-sided first half, during which Crusaders, who have now conceded 100 points or more in four of their last eight games, had only got into their 20m zone on a couple of occasions, leading 54-0 and were equally as dominant in the second half.
“Credit to North Wales; they never stopped playing and they had a real go but they couldn’t match our physicality or our quality,” said head coach Richard Horne. “It was just too much and that’s where the two clubs are at this moment in time.
“They are on a re-build after nearly going out of business in mid-season during which time they lost a lot of their players and we are nearly back to full strength.
“I was pleased with our performance because we were ruthless (for the full 80 minutes) which was good because it’s easy to get a bit sloppy in those sort of games. We were very disciplined in how we played with the ball, which was something we’d talked about, and we also defended well.
“I challenged some of the lads who hadn’t played for a long time that they needed to show us (the coaching staff) that they are good enough to make 17-man squad.
“Pauli Pauli and Gadwin both got 60 minutes under their belts and that’s what they need. Playing on the front foot they did what they needed to do and both went well and scored tries.”
Match Facts
Performance: 8/10
Entertainment: 6/10
Dons: Horne, Faraimo, Lyne, Vulikijapani, Ravalawa, Whitehead, Robinson, Knowles, Misky, Springer, Sutcliffe, Smeaton, McConnell. Subs: Hey, Pauli, C Jones, Hepi.