CARNEGIE TIMES THE OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF YORKSHIRE CARNEGIE RUGBY UNION CLUB ISSUE 05 INSIDE: CARNEGIE SEASON STATS CLUB NEWS ACADEMY OPPOSITION: DONCASTER KNIGHTS SQUADS CUSACK LOOKING FORWARD TO KNIGHTS BATTLE D oncaster-born Michael we can show that against returned to his first employers. Cusack admits he Doncaster. The post-mortem He made his Scotland debut is looking forward after the Irish game was very prior to last year s World to tonight s clash, having returned to the side in recent weeks after overcoming an injury picked up in preseason. Cusack made his second debut for the club in our last home game against Jersey, coming off the bench, and then started at London Irish. Looking ahead to tonight s game, the 32-year-old said: Doncaster are my home town club and I am definitely looking forward to playing against them. It will be a tough task and a big challenge for us. Doncaster are a good team and they did really well last year so they won t lack confidence coming here on Friday night. Reflecting on Yorkshire s last game, when the unbeaten start to the league programme came to an end, Cusack is pragmatic in his assessment of the Madejski Stadium clash. He revealed: We had a disappointing result against Irish but have had a week where we have looked to put those things right and hopefully honest. We did do some really good stuff but we came up with too many errors. We knew we couldn t afford to do that against a quality side like Irish but we also know that if we cut those errors out, that game looks very different. Hopefully we can be a lot sharper this week and that will help us. We didn t help ourselves with all the mistakes but Irish are a very good team and didn t need too many opportunities to finish us off. It was a tough challenge against a quality London Irish front row. We have done a lot of work on our set-piece and we know we will need to be just as good against Doncaster this week." The former Scotland international brought his career full circle by returning to Yorkshire Carnegie for the 201-17 season, having agreed a two-year contract with the club. He made his senior debut as a teenager back in 2003 and now 13 years later he has Cup, having qualified through residency after five seasons at Glasgow Warriors. The tighthead joined the Warriors in 2011 from Doncaster Knights and made 48 appearances. He first broke into the Leeds team under Phil Davies aged 18 during the 2003-04 season. He went on to make his full debut in the Heineken Cup at Neath- Swansea Ospreys against Welsh World Cup star Duncan Jones. In March 201, he joined Aviva Premiership side Newcastle Falcons for the remainder of the season. Looking ahead to the clash with Doncaster, he says he was impressed by Clive Griffiths' side last season and is expecting a tough challenge tonight. He added: I was following them with interest last year and I was hoping they would win the final against Bristol. I am pleased to see them doing well. There are a lot of players who have played for both teams and lads who have grown up playing alongside or against each other, so that does add an extra bit of spice to this game. It will be tough and a close contest I expect. I m getting better with each game that goes by. Working with Steve Boden is helping me. He is putting a lot of work into our set-piece. I think it has improved but I believe there is even more we can do. I played in the Championship a long time ago and it was always a tough league. I still think that is very much the case, especially with the quality of players that are now in this division. I have got Rob O Donnell in my position. He has played a lot of rugby and is a really good prop, and then James Thraves is a young lad with a lot of potential so that keeps the competition up throughout the group. Be everything you want to be at Leeds Beckett University Visit www.leedsbeckett.ac.uk to find out more 1
FACTS & FIGURES YORKSHIRE CARNEGIE ROLL CALL 201-17 Name Position HT WT DOB Age 201-17 Season Carnegie Career Debut Starts Subs Tries Pts Starts Subs Tries Pts Sam Allan Fly Half 1.80m 8kg 28/09/9 20-1 - - 1 5 - - V Munster A 20/11/15 Josh Bainbridge Back Row 1.83m 94kg 17/04/9 20 - - - - 14 15 20 100 V Doncaster 28/09/14 Richard Beck Back Row 1.88m 100kg 13/0/89 27 5 4 1 5 8 30 11 55 V Leicester 08/11/09 Charlie Beech Prop 1.85m 120kg 21/07/87 29 3 2 - - 48 22 9 45 V Bristol 13/10/13 Lewis Boyce Prop 1.89m 111kg 30/07/9 20 5 2 - - 5 7 - - V Rotherham 10/10/14 Ryan Burrows Number Eight 1.93m 105kg 25/04/88 28 9-1 5 122 7 28 140 V London Welsh 04/09/11 Charlie Capps Prop 1.84m 102Kg 08/0/97 19 - - - - 1 2 - - V Doncaster 09/10/15 Tom Casson Centre 1.83m 94Kg 0/04/90 2 2 2 - - 15 4 - - V Bristol 18/10/15 Michael Cusack Prop 1.79m 135kg 07/11/84 32 1 1 - - 22 3 2 10 V Bath 14/09/03 Alex Davies Scrum Half 1.75m 81kg 21/0/8 30 8-5 8 - - 5 v Ealing 03/09/1 Joe Ford Fly Half 1.79m 84kg 04/0/90 2 8-2 92 1 10 5 542 V Leicester 08/11/09 Andy Forsyth Centre 1.88m 87Kg 09/09/90 2 1 3 15 23 9 14 70 V Jersey 0/09/15 Christian Georgiou Full back 1.85m 90kg 09/01/92 24 1 - - - 50 8 10 V Currie 13/11/11 Oli Goss Centre 1.80m 85kg 21/12/87 28 3-1 5 8 8 1 80 V Jersey 21/10/12 Ross Graham Hooker 1.78m 102kg 20/12/95 20 1 5 1 5 1 5 1 5 v London Welsh 17/09/1 Alex Gray Centre 1.93m 104kg 01/05/91 25 4 2 1 5 3 3 1 5 v Ealing 03/09/1 Max Green Scrum half 1.8m 85Kg 13/02/9 20 2 8-2 5 14 1 7 V Ealing 20/09/15 Jonah Holmes Winger 1.83m 91kg 24/07/92 24 7-5 25 70 2 41 205 V Nottingham 31/08/12 Lee Imiolek Prop 1.85m 110kg 21/09/90 2 2 1 5 3 72 9 45 V Nottingham 31/08/12 Pete Lucock Centre 1.83m 90kg 27/11/92 23 8-1 5 87 11 9 45 V Rotherham 21/09/11 Mike Mayhew Hooker 1.88m 111kg 22/01/87 29 3 1 1 5 3 1 1 5 v Ealing 15/10/1 Richard Mayhew Back Row 1.91m 109kg 24/0/85 31 4 1 - - 4 1 - - v Ealing 03/09/1 Stevie McColl Full back 1.85m 98kg 1/08/88 28 7-4 20 1 1 2 135 V London Welsh 04/09/11 Mike Myerscough Second Row 1.9m 110kg 28/05/8 30 - - - - 48 11 3 15 V Nottingham 31/08/12 Phil Nilsen Hooker 1.87m 101kg 2/02/85 31 2 1 5 103 91 11 55 V Cornish Pirates 23/09/0 Rob O Donnell Prop 1.98m 122Kg 15/12/85 30 2 10 50 27 9 13 5 V Jersey 0/09/15 Ciaran Parker Prop 1.83m 1.88kg 05/10/95 21 2 4 - - 2 4 - - v Ealing 03/09/1 Jordon Poole Hooker 1.75m 90kg 02/04/97 19 - - - - - 5 - - V Ospreys 15/11/15 Taylor Prell Full back 1.79m 80kg 03/07/9 20 4-3 15 27 1 10 50 V Rotherham 10/10/14 Dan Preston-Routledge 2nd Row 1.95m 99kg 27/10/95 21-1 - - 1 5 - - V Aberavon 07/12/13 Dan Sanderson Second Row 2.03m 119kg 18/08/84 32 5 - - - 5 - - v Ealing 03/09/1 Andy Saull Back Row 1.85m 101Kg 27/09/88 28 5 2 - - 1 10 13 5 V Jersey 0/09/15 Dean Schofi eld Second Row 1.98m 124Kg 19/01/79 37 7-1 5 25 1 5 V Jersey 0/09/15 Warren Seals Fly Half 1.8m 97kg 12/02/92 24 2 1-20 2 1-20 v Rotherham 01/10/1 Matt Smith Second Row 2.03m 111kg 2/10/89 27 5 2 - - 7 25 30 V Bristol 23/09/12 Ollie Stedman Back Row 1.91m 119kg 20/05/91 25 1 3 15 3 3 15 v Scarlets 0/11/10 Seb Stegmann Winger 1.85m 93Kg 12/04/89 27 8 2 10 25 3 8 40 V Jersey 0/09/15 James Thraves Prop 1.88m 118KG 05/01/94 22 1 2 - - 1 2 - - v Rotherham 01/10/1 Chris Walker Back Row 1.81m 95kg 21/01/92 24 1 3 - - 77 44 28 140 V Llanelli 0/11/10 Jack Whetton Back Row 2.00m 119kg 24/05/92 24 3 - - 3 - - v Nottingham 11/09/1 Max Wright Centre 1.84m 87Kg 24/05/97 19-4 1 5 7 2 10 V Ospreys PS 15/11/15 Penalty tries 1 Average age 25 150 44 329 1,349 575 324 2,112 201-17 TOP FIVE LEAGUE TRY SCORERS Rob O'Donnell Yorkshire Carnegie Jonah Holmes Yorkshire Carnegie Kristian Phillips London Welsh Tyson Lewis Doncaster Knights Aled Jenkins Ealing Trailfinders 201-17 TOP FIVE LEAGUE POINT SCORERS Tommy Bell London Irish Joe Ford Yorkshire Carnegie Will Robinson Rotherham Titans Will Cargill Cornish Pirates Peter Lydon London Scottish 58 0 8 5 92 98 FIXTURE LIST 201-17 Date KO H/A Comp Opposition Result SEPTEMBER 201 Sat 3 Sep 15:00 A CHAMP Ealing Trailfi nders 30-13 Sun 11 Sep 15:00 H CHAMP Nottingham 2-24 Sat 17 Sep 14:00 A CHAMP London Welsh 23-22 Sun 25 Sep 15:00 H CHAMP London Scottish 39-29 OCTOBER 201 Sat 1 Oct 15:00 A CHAMP Rotherham Titans 37-21 Sun 9 Oct 14:00 A CHAMP Cornish Pirates 35-28 Sat 15 Oct 15:00 A B&I Cup Ealing Trailfi nders 35-51 Sat 22 Oct 14:30 H B&I Cup Bedford Blues 52-28 Fri 28 Oct 20:00 H CHAMP Jersey Reds 35-29 NOVEMBER 201 Sat 5 Nov 15:00 A CHAMP London Irish 17-41 Fri 18 Nov 20:00 H CHAMP Doncaster Fri 25 Nov 19:45 A CHAMP Richmond DECEMBER 201 Fri 2 Dec 20:00 H CHAMP Bedford Blues Sun 11 Dec 14:00 H B&I Cup Dragons PS (at Pontefract RUFC) Sat 17 Dec 14:00 A B&I Cup Dragons Premiership Select Mon 2 Dec 14:00 A CHAMP Nottingham JANUARY 2017 Sun 1 Jan 15:00 H CHAMP London Welsh Sat 14 Jan 15:00 A B&I Cup Bedford Blues Sat 21 Jan 14:00 H B&I Cup Ealing (at Scarborough RUFC) Sat 28 Jan 14:00 A CHAMP London Scottish FEBRUARY 2017 Sun 5 Feb 15:00 H CHAMP Rotherham Titans Sat 18 Feb 15:00 H CHAMP Cornish Pirates Fri 24 Feb 19:45 A CHAMP Jersey Reds MARCH 2017 Sun 5 Mar 15:00 H CHAMP London Irish Sat 18 Mar 14:30 A CHAMP Doncaster Sun 2 Mar 15:00 H CHAMP Richmond APRIL 2017 Sat 8 Apr 15:00 A CHAMP Bedford Blues Sat 15 Apr 15:00 H CHAMP Ealing Trailfinders RFU CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL TABLE 201-17 P W D L F A Dif 4T LB Pts 1 London Irish 8 8 - - 284 95 189 7-39 2 Yorkshire Carnegie 8 7-1 245 207 38 5-33 3 Ealing Trailfinders 8 5 1 2 215 18 29 3-25 4 Doncaster Knights 8 5-3 191 155 3 3 1 24 5 London Welsh 8 4-4 179 149 30 3 3 22 Nottingham 8 4-4 174 201-27 2 2 20 7 Cornish Pirates 8 3 1 4 208 188 20 2 4 20 8 Jersey 8 3-5 175 182-7 2 4 18 9 London Scottish 8 3-5 187 255-8 3 2 17 10 Rotherham Titans 8 3-5 181 224-43 2 2 1 11 Bedford Blues 8 2-179 190-11 3 4 15 12 Richmond 8 - - 8 91 277-18 - - - P: Played W: Won D: Drawn L: Lost F: Points for A: Points against Dif: Points difference 4T: Try-scoring bonus LB: Losing bonus Pts: Points 2
CLUB NEWS YORKSHIRE CARNEGIE SUPPORT LEEDS POPPY DAY Yorkshire Carnegie players and Business Development Manager John Bentley headed out into the snow to help support club partners WYG and the Royal British Legion s Leeds Poppy Day. Mike Myerscough, Joe Ford, Matt Smith, Alex Davies, Alex Gray, Ryan Burrows and Richard Mayhew joined WYG volunteers to help raise money for the Royal British Legion s Poppy Appeal 201, taking to the streets of Leeds at Wellington Place. This year s theme is Rethink Remembrance and aims to recognise the sacrifices made not just by the Armed Forces of the past, but by today s generation too. Bentley commented: WYG are one of our partners and when they asked us to get involved and support their work on the Poppy Day we were more than happy to oblige. As a professional sports club we get invited to support many causes and feel undoubtedly this is one of the worthiest; supporting our armed forces. Mixing with our servicemen and women is a truly humbling experience and we were honoured to help them raise awareness and funds for this year s Poppy Appeal. The players were a credit to the club and actually went around the offices in Wellington Place selling poppies as well as posing for photos with the Royal British Legion volunteers. Andrew Fotherby, WYG Director, said: We are extremely proud that many of our colleagues have once again come forward to support this worthwhile cause. Demonstrating our support matters to us because of our strong bond with the Armed Forces and a long-standing history of working alongside service personnel in difficult conditions. Each year the Royal British Legion asks the British public to support the Poppy Appeal by wearing a poppy during the period of Remembrance to raise vital funds to help the Armed Forces community. For more information about the Poppy Appeal, visit the Royal British Legion s website: www.britishlegion.org.uk ANTI-BULLYING WEEK Yorkshire Carnegie's Community Team have been working with schools and clubs to create a positive message about inclusion, in line with Anti-Bullying week which has been running throughout the past week. We are keen to support the wider issues and creating resources, such as a video which we have sent out to clubs and schools, is a great way for us to do that. COMMUNITY ROUND-UP Tonight we welcome our affiliated schools and clubs from across the region. We also welcome four of the RFU All Schools who are at the game following a festival at our Kirkstall Training Ground where they were coached by members of the first-team. Kristian Sharples of the RFU said: This is a great opportunity for the students and we are delighted to link up with Yorkshire Carnegie on projects like this, hopefully it will be the first of many this season. The half-time games will also see six of our affiliated prepatory schools in action. They have all worked closely with us over the past few months and we are delighted to welcome them along. Schools Development Manager Lisa McCann commented: It is fantastic for the students to come along to a game, particularly a local derby such as this one. We have schools from across Yorkshire here tonight which demonstrates the appetite for students to watch the first-team in action. CARNEGIE GET THEIR EARS ON FOR CHILDREN IN NEED The Yorkshire Carnegie players have pledged their support for this year s Children in Need. The players got on their Pudsey ears for a selfie ahead of tonight s event. If you would like to donate to Children in Need text GIVE followed by the amount you want to donate to 70705. If you would like to buy some Pudsey ears they are available on the high street or online www.bbcchildreninneedshop.co.uk 3
CLUB NEWS SEALS RE-JOINS FORMER CLUB ON LOAN Yorkshire Carnegie fly-half Warren Seals has re-joined his former club, Darlington Mowden Park, on loan. Seals joined Yorkshire Carnegie from Darlington Mowden Park after impressing during the 2015-1 season with the National Division One side. A former University of Cape Town player, he signed a one-year deal with the club in 201. Originally from South Africa he joined Darlington Mowden Park in November 2015. He will miss at least the next three Greene King IPA Championship games for Yorkshire Carnegie. He has made three appearances so far this season for Yorkshire Carnegie and the move to Darlington Mowden Park is seen as an opportunity for him to gain more game time before potentially coming back into contention when we return to action in the British & Irish Cup in December. YORKSHIRE CARNEGIE AGREE TO RELEASE GEORGIOU Yorkshire Carnegie have agreed to release fullback Christian Georgiou from the remainder of his contract to enable the Halifax-born player to look for new opportunities in the game. Georgiou, 24, joined the Carnegie Academy in 2005 and made his debut in the 2011. After a spell on loan at Wharfedale, Georgiou s progress was frustrated by injuries, however, he cemented his place in the side during the 2014-15 season and was one of the most consistent performers in a season of upheaval for the club. He notched up seven tries as he made the full-back position his own, finishing the season as runner-up in the Player of the Season awards. However injury set backs during the 2015-1 season minimised his involvement to just seven games. In total, he made 58 appearances for the club, scoring ten tries. His final appearance was in the recent defeat to Ealing Trailfinders in the British & Irish Cup. Director of Rugby Chris Gibson said: We would like to thank Christian for all his efforts for Yorkshire Carnegie. I know it has been tough for him to deal with the injuries that have occurred during his career, however, he has always been a great professional and been determined to return to his best. This release enables him to look for new options and the chance to play regular rugby." ACADEMY UPDATE The Junior Development Squad Under-15 group has reached a new dual phase programme. This is two ten week phases of training for identified players which leads into the RFU 12-a-side festivals in May. The Under-1s are continuing with a larger squad with more players accessing more opportunities which will again lead into the Under-1 festival games and Wellington Festival at Easter. Our Under-18s are also operating with a bigger squad with an extended group of players on the peripherals of academy training once a month with a focus on position specific training with the academy for extended opportunities to progress into the academy. MEET THE PLAYER We have had twelve players at Under-1 on the England North training camp, with another player selected for England Under-17 training and five players selected for England Under-18 training. New for this season, the AASE partnership at Bishop Burton has been an extension of the academy to provide additional routes into elite and aspirational rugby, supporting the game in East Yorkshire. In line with this partnership our Senior Academy have had the opportunity to play at Leeds Beckett University. This has allowed us to extend the pathway for those later developers or those who need game time as part of their ongoing development to support the first-team. Date of birth: 19th January 1979 Place of birth: Manchester School attended: Audenshaw High Former clubs: Sale, Toulon, Worcester and London Welsh Representative honours: England Most memorable game played in: Premiership Final Favourite sportsperson: Lee Imiolek Interesting fact about you: I can speak French What do you hope to do as a career post rugby? As little as possible! What is your greatest achievement? My children First rugby memory: Going to my local club at 19 If you won the lottery what would be the first thing you would buy? A villa in Ibiza Which of your team-mates is the most competitive? Oli Goss What would be the first word people would use to describe you? Ginger Who is the biggest moaner in the team? Lee Imiolek Best dressed in the team? Matt Smith If you could be the lead singer of a band which would it be? Oasis If you could be anyone famous for the day who would it be? Anthony Joshua 4
YORKSHIRE CARNEGIE EXPAND ACADEMY PROGRAMME Yorkshire Carnegie have expanded their Academy programme with the appointment of joint managers Jon Pendlebury and Ben Lazenby to head up the vital element of the club s development programme... Pendlebury (Academy Manager - Players) and Lazenby (Academy Manager - Programmes & Pathways) will replace former Academy Director Andy Rock with two new coaching appointments set to be announced to expand the fulltime team working with young players at the club. The Academy programme at Yorkshire Carnegie has been recognised as one of the outstanding academies in the country having produced England internationals likes Danny Care, Luther Burrell and Paul Hill amongst others along with a host of England age group players over the last two decades. **********FREE ********* ********* SEASON TICKETS FOR JUNIORS * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * By splitting the leadership role between Pendlebury and Lazenby, the club hopes to be able to fully integrate the player development pathways in partnership with the RFU and PRL across the county. Former Carnegie player Pendlebury has been part of the Academy coaching staff since 2012. He had joined the club originally as a player four years earlier and also played in the Premiership with Gloucester and Rotherham. This is an exciting opportunity for us as an Academy, a club and for myself personally as we look to take forward the good work that has been done ********** over this last five years. In my time working in developmental rugby, through the goals set by the RFU and our vision as a Yorkshire academy, we have supported a large number of players from our region. I have had the opportunity to work with some great people and coaches and we now have an excellent group who have supported myself and Ben and enabled us to take this joint management role together. Keighley-born Lazenby joined Yorkshire Carnegie last year having established a strong reputation for player development during his seven years at Warrington NEXT HOME GAME YORKSHIRE V BEDFORD FRI 2 ND DEC KO 8PM HEADINGLEY CARNEGIE STADIUM MATCH DAY PRICES: 17 ADULT TICKETS 10 CONCESSIONS 5 JUNIORS 0371 423 1315 yorkshirecarnegie.com 5 Wolves Rugby Leagu e club. I am delighted to have this opportunity to work with Jon to further progress our academy in the support of talented junior players in Yorkshire. As an academy, we have a rich player pool of potential elite players and we want to ensure that all players who possess the potential to be elite have opportunities through the pathway, supported by experts in their field, to improve and become future players for the club and country, as well as help us achieve our aim of being a Premiership club in Yorkshire, populated by Yorkshire players. We are also excited about extending the support from the pathways to ensure a robust county and grassroots game across all of Yorkshire, this way we can make sure that our county continues to be a stronghold of the game in England. Moving forward there will be two additional coaches recruited into the Academy with an academy performance coach, who will be a backs specialist working with Under-18 and Under-1 players, and an academy coach development officer whose responsibilities will include coach education in the academy and across the county supporting key stakeholders. For the 201-17 season, the England Rugby Developing Players programme (ERDPP) will be based around five centres in the county. This will still allow delivery on the doorstep but will also concentrate the potential. The Yorkshire Carnegie Academy will run regular coaching at Under-14 through to Under-17 level with talent development days at Under-13 level to provide the widest base at the lowest level. A dual pathway approach will be taken with streamlining for early identification of players at Under-15 and Under-1 into the Yorkshire Carnegie Academy Junior Development Squad programme but with ongoing recruitment and retention in the ERDPP structures the pathway can remain wide to support the development of later developing players. The academy will support both early and late identified players with opportunities to progress into the Under-18 Junior Academy and potentially beyond with our Senior Academy. Ben Lazenby
YORKSHIRE CARNEGIE PLAYER SPONSORS JAMES THRAVES JOE FORD PETER LUCOCK CHRIS WALKER ANDY FORSYTH MIKE MAYHEW JACK WHETTON OLI GOSS JOSH BAINBRIDGE RICHARD MAYHEW MAX WRIGHT SEB STEGMANN ROSS GRAHAM RICHARD BECK STEVE McCOLL ALEX GRAY CHARLIE BEECH MIKE MYERSCOUGH MAX GREEN LEWIS BOYCE PHIL NILSEN JONAH HOLMES RYAN BURROWS ROB O DONNELL LEE IMIOLEK TOM CASSON MICHAEL CUSACK ALEX DAVIES TONY & SHEENA YULL DVD CONSULTING DVD CONSULTING THE GILLESPIE FAMILY CRAVEN SHIRES TECHNOLOGY FOR TEXTILES AND NONWOVENS MIKE SHOTTON & FAMILY TONY SNOWDON MIKE SHOTTON & FAMILY J S WOOD COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES THE GILLESPIE FAMILY J S WOOD COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES TAYLOR PRELL JENNY MACDONALD SMITH DAN SANDERSON ANDY SAULL DEAN SCHOFIELD WARREN SEALS MATT SMITH OLLIE STEDMAN AVAILABLE TO SPONSOR JAMES BAIRD J S WOOD COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES AVAILABLE TO SPONSOR AVAILABLE TO SPONSOR AVAILABLE TO SPONSOR For more information on sponsoring a Yorkshire Carnegie player, or for details on any other commercial opportunities with the club, contact the Sales Team on 0113 2033 222.
OPPOSITION PROFILE: DONCASTER KNIGHTS Doncaster Knights have enjoyed a solid start to the 201-17 campaign with five wins and three defeats to their name so far, occupying fourth place in the Championship table. Last year saw the Knights finish second, a highest ever league finish for the South Yorkshiremen. Few home fans need reminding of how they fared in the play-off semi-finals as they recorded a two-legged victory over Carnegie to book a place in the Premiership Play-off Final. An epic 32-34 victory over Bristol at Ashton Gate was not enough to turnaround a home-leg defeat as Andy Robinson s charges recorded a 0-47 aggregate win and booked their place in the Aviva Premiership. Over the summer there were a handful of changes in personnel at Castle Park with several quality additions joining the Knights. Ex-Australian international back-row Beau Robinson, London Welsh hooker Harry Allen and Rotherham Rugby duo Lloyd Hayes and Sean Scanlon amongst some of the more familiar names. Off the field former Headingley Carnegie legend Francis Cummins was appointed as the new Skills & Backs Coach for Doncaster. The former Rhinos winger replacing another former Super League back in Paul Cooke. Under Cummins stewardship the Knights have been one of the most formidable units in the Championship; scoring 21 of the Knights' 27 Championship trys to date. With the success of last year s season still fresh in their minds an opening day defeat to league leaders London Irish was a rather rude awakening as the Knights failed to register a single point at the Madejski in a 19-0 loss. Now ten weeks into the season, the Knights are looking more like the team of last year with some promising if inconsistent displays. Clive Griffiths charges remain unbeaten at Castle Park having successfully seen off the challenges of Rotherham Titans, Bedford Blues, Nottingham Rugby and London Scottish. One failing of the side this season has been their ability to start matches quickly and they have conceded first in eight of their nine games in all competitions; something they will be keen to improve on today. Since being promoted back into the division in 2014-15 the Knights have a strong head-tohead record against Carnegie. In a tricky return to the Championship Donny recorded a home and away double of Yorkshire as they eventually secured a ninth-place finish and league safety. Last season Yorkshire won the Headingley clash with Ollie Stedman scoring a late try to secure a Knights bonus point, the Knights took the Castle Park leg before the two-legged triumph in the play-offs. As well as Championship points, Yorkshire Regiment Trophy competition points are on offer today. Both sides currently have one win to their name, however, Yorkshire s bonus point over Rotherham in October separates the two sides. Donny are the only team not to lift the trophy and they will be hoping to take a big stride in changing that today. Written by Connor Hickinbottom. SAM EDGERLEY ANDREW BULUMAKAU LLOYD HAYES 7
Try Con Pen DG Try Con Pen DG TONIGHT'S MATCH OFFICIALS Referee: Steve Lee Assistant Referee 1: Wayne Falla Assistant Referee 2: Matt Daubney THIS WEEKEND'S MATCHES: Friday 18th November London Scottish v Richmond, 7pm Nottingham v Ealing Trailfinders, 7.45pm YORKSHIRE CARNEGIE STEVIE MCCOLL JONAH HOLMES PETE LUCOCK TOM CASSON SEB STEGMANN JOE FORD ALEX DAVIES CHARLIE BEECH MIKE MAYHEW MICHAEL CUSACK JACK WHETTON RICHARD BECK (C) RYAN BURROWS ANDY SAULL OLLIE STEDMAN PHIL NILSEN LEWIS BOYCE ROB O DONNELL DAN SANDERSON CHRIS WALKER MAX GREEN MAX WRIGHT 15 FULL-BACK 14 RIGHT WING 13 OUTSIDE CENTRE 12 INSIDE CENTRE 11 LEFT WING 10 FLY-HALF 9 SCRUM-HALF 1 LOOSEHEAD PROP 2 HOOKER 3 TIGHTHEAD PROP 4 LOCK 5 LOCK BLINDSIDE FLANKER 7 OPENSIDE FLANKER 8 NUMBER EIGHT 1 17 18 19 20 21 22 DONCASTER KNIGHTS SEAN SCANLON PAUL JARVIS LLOYD HAYES MAT CLARK TYSON LEWIS DEC CUSACK MICHAEL HEANEY ROBIN HISLOP BEN HUNTER COLIN QUIGLEY Saturday 19th November London Welsh v Bedford Blues, 12 noon Cornish Pirates v London Irish, 1pm Rotherham Titans v Jersey Reds, 2pm MATT CHALLINOR (C) DAVE NOLAN LATU MAKAAFI WILL OWEN JARAD WILLIAMS RICHARD LIST HARRY ALLEN WILLGRIFF JOHN HARRISON ORR DOUGIE FLOCKHART SIMON HUMBERSTONE SAM EDGERLEY BIG MATCH SPONSOR: First Floor, Unit 2180, Thorpe Park, Century Way, Leeds, West Yorkshire LS15 8ZB, www.kier.co.uk YORKSHIRE CARNEGIE vs DRAGONS PREMIERSHIP SELECT 11TH DECEMBER, KICK-OFF 2PM (PLAYED ON THE ROAD AT PONTEFRACT RUFC) Yorkshire Carnegie will return to action in the British and Irish Cup in December and will face Dragons Premiership Select on the road at Pontefract RUFC. Carnegie started their B&I campaign off with a defeat against Ealing but followed this up with a 52-28 win over Bedford which puts them second in the table ahead of this fixture. The Dragons have so far suffered losses against both Bedford and Ealing and are bottom. YORKSHIRE CARNEGIE B&I CUP PRICING 201-17 (MATCH DAY PRICE) Adults:... 10 ( 12) Concessions*... 5 ( ) Juniors**... FREE (free access on the day) Concession: *Seniors are 5 and over and students upon production of a valid student card ** Junior denotes a child who is 1 and under. Advance tickets can be bought in person at the club, online at www.yorkshirecarnegie.com or by calling 0371 423 1315 MASCOTS BRYN LOVELEY Age: 5 School: Year 1 at Middleton St Mary s C of E Primary School Club: Plays for Leeds Corinthians RUFC Hobbies: Loves Minecraft and Star Wars IEUAN LOVELEY Age: 3 School: Attends nursery at Middleton St Mary s C of E Primary School Club: Plays for Leeds Corinthians RUFC Hobbies: Loves Paw Patrol and dinosaurs CLUB PARTNERS: 8