If ever there was a team ready for promotion back to the English Championship it is Doncaster Knights, who on Saturday continued their 100% record this season with a comprehensive 32-3 victory over fellow promotion chasers Loughborough Students.
The Knights, who took hold of the top of National League 1 on the first game of the campaign, are yet to look behind them after recording their seventh straight victory to stretch their lead atop the table to six points – and they’re raising eyebrows in the Betfair forums too.
Lock Michael Walker-Fitton and wings Tyson Lewis and Mat Clark all crossed over the for South Yorkshire club while Paul Roberts, at fly, kicked 12 points and scored a try himself during the attack-minded rout.
What was most promising from this team was their ability to shut down a Loughborough scrum that has earned so many wins this season and effectively stifled their opponents from any offensive freedom.
The Students laboured with the ball and failed to get within kicking range of Doncaster’s posts bar George Eastwell’s sole penalty.
The discipline in this Doncaster tackle is impressive and their swamping of the ball in the ruck means they rarely come under threat. For Betfair punters who bet on rugby, they are a dead cert to win this league despite it being so early in the season.
As for Loughborough, defeat saw them drop into fourth as Esher and Rosslyn Park won their weekend clashes. While Esher saw off lowly Worthing by a single score, Park proved themselves real promotion contenders with their hard-fought 21-8 win at Blackheath.
Beating middle-ranked teams consistently – as Park have done – is a sign of a strong side and head coach Alex Codling will hope that despite Doncaster’s strong start his Richmond boys can recover the gap.
By: Joe Short