'We're pushing in right direction' - Doncaster Knights star Alex Dolly ignores Premiership talk as new candidate emerges

As ever, a Championship rugby season is being played to a backdrop of uncertainty surrounding whether the team that wins the division, can or wants to go up to the Premiership.

As it stands, the RFU have relaxed their minimum standard requirements for entry into the Premiership, even if some clubs in the second tier are reported to be questioning the small print.

And even when the team finishes top of the Championship, they face a two-legged play-off against the bottom club in the Premiership for the right to replace them.

Doncaster have applied for and received approval for promotion from the RFU, and for a long time, were the only club in that situation, despite sitting sixth in the 12-team league.

That is until this week when Coventry, who are top of the table with six wins from six, declared their intention to apply for promotion.

For 28-year-old Australian and long-time Knight Dolly, that is something for the club’s administrators to worry about.

“You know what’s going on in the background as a player, but me personally I don’t look into the details,” he said.

“We have a great facility here, we’ve got a great backroom staff, everything that’s pushing in the right direction as a club.

“It’s above my pay grade and above my concerns as a player, at the moment my focus is during the week here and the Saturdays.

“We don’t get too caught up in it as players.”

Saturday’s game at Chinnor represents a test of their ambitions. The Oxfordshire outfit sit a place and two points below Doncaster in the league, with the fixture an opportunity for Joe Ford and Sir Ian McGeechan’s side to climb the table.

“We had some good performances recently,” said Dolly after successives wins against Caldy in the cup and Cambridge in the league. “Being professional, playing in the right areas and eventually we can break teams down.”