London Broncos cup clash is a 'free hit' for Doncaster RLFC, says head coach

The game, which has been switched to Rosslyn Park RFC’s ground, is unlikely to swell the club’s coffers given the level of Broncos’ support base has dwindled over the years during which time the club have been based at a number of grounds in the capital.

“It’s not the tie we were looking for,” said head coach Richard Horne.

“I said before the draw I didn’t mind anyone at home. But not only are we not at home we couldn’t have had a much longer journey and it will mean an early start for a lot of the players.”

Looking ahead to the tie, Horne said: “They had a tough run of fixtures and lost three of their first four league games, although they were all close.

"But they have hit some good form in recent weeks and have won their last three league and cup games – though they had to work hard to beat Swinton 16-14 at home last weekend.

“They are a Championship team with some quality players, including a couple of PNG internationals, so there is no expectation on us and we’ll be able to give it a free hit. What I can say is that we’ll go down there and try and play some good rugby and see what happens.

“We certainly want to give a good account of ourselves at the very least. We don’t want to be on the wrong end of a big scoreline as we’ve built up a bit of momentum following five wins from five in the league and cup.

“We also want to use the game as a gauge to see where we are as we hope to be playing in the Championship next season.

“We’ll put a strong team out but anyone carrying any sort of knock which could be made worse by playing, won’t be involved as was the case in the last round.

“As I’ve said before, the league is our priority, and some boys also need some game time.”

The winners of Satuday’s game will entertain either Dewsbury or Widnes in the fifth round next month. The winners of that tie will be seeded into the semi-final of the 1895 Cup, the final of which is played on the same day and at the same venue as the Challenge Cup final at Wembley in August.