Doncaster Knights seek revenge against Richmond

Just over 12 months earlier Knights had put the newly-promoted National One side to the sword when beating them 57-16 on the same ground.

By the time the London side visited Castle Park on New Year’s Eve they had had time to come to terms with the extra demands of Championship rugby and made Knights work harder (34-23) for the spoils.

But it was still something of a shock when they beat the South Yorkshire side, who boasted successive top-four finishes, back in November even though Knights’ form was patchy in the first half of the season.

But the result will ensure that there will be no complacency by the home side in the return at Castle Park this weekend on what is set to be an emotional occasion as prop Ian Williams – who died suddenly during a training session last month - will be remembered by players and supporters alike.

The players, as they were in their first game after Ian’s death at Cornish Pirates ten days ago, are determined to try and honour the memory of their ‘16th man’ with a victory.

“Decisions went against us at Richmond but you’ve got to give them credit for what they’ve done even if it doesn’t do much for the rest of us who are full-time,” said Knights boss Clive Griffiths.

“I’ve certainly got a huge respect for them because they’ve got some good players and we’ll need to play well to beat them.

“But prior to the defeat at Pirates, where we were never behind until the last minute, we’d won our last four league and cup games and had scored a lot of points.”