Coventry v Doncaster Knights: Loan quartet set to further bolster injury-hit Knights ahead of tough schedule

There could be several new faces in the Doncaster Knights side which faces high-flying Coventry in Saturday’s Championship clash at the Butts Park Arena.
Clive GriffithsClive Griffiths
Clive Griffiths

Badly hit by injuries and suspension this season - Leicester’s recent decision to recall full-back/fly-half Johnny McPhillips also not helping matters - Knights were due to have four new loan players training with them today at Castle Park.

Second-rower Matt Postlethwaite, back Connor Doherty, scrum-half Gus Ward, all from Sale, will be joined by 19-year-old Newcastle back-rower Rob Farrar.

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They will link-up with new signings, utility-back Howard Packman and prop Dan Suter, who were both handed a contract until the end of the season earlier this week.

Coventry moved joint-level on points with second-placed Cornish Pirates at the weekend when coming from behind to claim a 28-28 draw away at Ealing Trailfinders, second favourites for the title behind relegated Newcastle.

“We’ve looked at that game as part of the build-up to Saturday and they played well on the day,” said director of rugby Clive Griffiths. “They’ve got a good balance across the team as you would expect given the money they’ve spent.

“We wanted to sign No 8 Ryan Burrrows, who played a few games for us on dual-reg while at Newcastle last season, but we couldn’t match what Coventry were offering him.

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“Although is it disappointing when you miss out on good players, I fully support the club’s position to stick to its budget. We’ve all seen what can happen when clubs live beyond their means.

“We know it’s going to be a tough game in what is likely to be a fast-paced game on their new 4G pitch but we’ll be going there on the back of a good performance against Bedford last weekend.

“We’ve got a tough run up to Christmas with Ealing at home the following week before we return to Jersey on the resumption of the Championship Cup the week after, so a good result on Saturday would help set us up for that.”