'You don't get many people like Matt Challinor any more' - Doncaster Knights boss outlines how the sport has changed

Stalwart Challinor made his 250th Knights appearance earlier this year and recently signed a contract extension to remain at Castle Park for an 11th successive season.

Doncaster have bolstered their ranks over recent weeks by signing full back James Kane, centre Mark Best, scrum half James Mitchell, back row Conor Joyce and loose head prop Tom Hill.

Head coach Boden said: “I want people with ambition and [when I met with them] I touched upon the ambition of the players and myself, the coaching team and the club. I think that was a good fit for some of these guys.

“Some of them have got a little bit of experience but they’ve still got a lot of growth in them and a lot of rugby left in them. I want people that want to progress.

“We probably had a frank and open conversation about how professional sport has changed. You don’t get many people like Matt Challinor any more – they’re a rare breed.

“Playing 100 games for one club is quite a big thing now and you don’t get as many people achieving that.

“We’re not saying to these lads you should pledge your life to Doncaster but we’re saying you should buy-in for the time that you’re here.

“If that means you kick on [as a player], as a club we’ll take great pride in that to see you progress because it means we’ve done something right.”

Meanwhile, academy player Allan Hudson has been promoted to the senior training squad for 2020/21.