Knights take on all comers!

Non-contact rugby

The Doncaster Knights under 8’s play host to teams from all around the area in their festival of rugby

Last Sunday (5th April) saw the Miracle Drywash and Autoglass®-sponsored Doncaster Knights under 8’s play host to teams from all around the area in their festival of rugby. It was a fantastic sunny day, and after a lot of work from team manager Ian, the day eventually got under way with the teams needing to get through 10 games between them.

The red team got off to a flyer and, despite having to come from behind, they got a draw with arch rivals Selby. The day continued in the same vein for the reds as they notched up successive draws and a couple of hard-fought wins. They were led by Captain BJ Howe who ran in a hat full of tries, with almost the entire team getting on the score sheet. Ben Rivers once again rose to the occasion of playing on the first team pitch and scoring a couple of great tries which showed his ability to run strongly with the ball in his hands.

The red team eventually got edged (or should we say battered?) out of a close contest with Goole, meaning they finished 3rd and just outside the final places. The Blue team was led by James Chapman, and looked to be having a great day. There was some really determined running, and despite being wrestled to the ground in this physical, non-contact support, the smile on Luis Haythorne's face at the end of the day made it all worthwhile. There was some great displays from the new faces in the team, and again finishing fourth, they were just outside the final places.

It was a great day for the kids and coaches; we got to use the first team dressing room, play on the first team pitch and climb the steps to collect a medal at the end of the day. Here's hoping we can go one step further at the Scarborough international festival in a couple of week – well done boys!

Sponsors' images - Clearest badge impressions

Sunday (15th March) saw the Miracle Drywash and Autoglass®-sponsored Doncaster Knights under 8’s make the short trip up the A19 to York to face both York and Otley, teams who have always loved to take on the Knights.

The Doncaster under 8’s love to throw the ball around and work the spaces on the field, so it came as no surprise to find ourselves playing on 2 of the smallest pitches we have ever come across, and against 2 teams who were going to surround the ball carrier at every opportunity and limit the Knights' game plan.

It took a few minutes to settle in, and despite the, once again, physical nature of the games, and some interesting interpretations of the laws of the game, the Knights team soon settled into their routine and some excellent strong running from player of the day, Ethan Commons, and fantastic support from the player, voted as giving the most for the team, Owain Herring, saw the boys run in some great tries and come from behind against both oppositions to take well-earned draws.

The Knights have a week of training next week, before entering the final month of the season which will see them take on strong local rivals Dinnington, play host to their own festival at the start of April before heading off on tour to play in the Scarborough international festival. Here's to a great end to the season – good luck boys !!

Doncaster Knights: Rugby blog

Sunday (8th March) dawned with a bit of sunshine, a gentle breeze and huge expectation following the Doncaster Knights' first team's win over previously undefeated neighbours, Leeds, the day before. The Miracle Drywash and Autoglass®-sponsored under 8’s were to host the ‘giants’ from Hull Ionians who have always provided a tough test.

Again there were enough players for 2 teams, and despite the weather already starting to turn, there was a steely determination amongst the team, which saw them keen to get started.

Immediately, Hull came at the Doncaster Knights, and took an early lead, and what looked like control, of the game. They were running hard, if sideways, and supporting each other in a way that we usually see from the home team. Slowly but surely though, the mistakes started to creep in, and with one or two refereeing decisions going against them, Hull started to back off, and Doncaster grew in confidence.

Half time arrived at 2 tries a piece, which shows how tight the game was, and after some words from the coaches and the captain, the boys couldn’t wait to get started. The knights made a couple of changes, and suddenly they were the side supporting well, running hard and starting to score points. The curtain fell on game one with the Doncaster boys one try ahead.

For Game 2, a whole new team was introduced, led by Ben Rivers, and 10 seconds in, Hull looked to be up to old tricks as they cut through the home team to take and early lead.

The pattern was the same as the first game, with Hull controlling the game and running with determination, but as half time approached, Doncaster started to settle and put some of their own pressure on, and as in the first game, the mistakes started to come from Hull allowing the Knights to still be in the game at half time. The weather was now starting to play its part, and with several players now shivering, and everyone getting wet, the coaches made a couple of necessary changes and the game restarted. In almost a mirror of the first game, it was the Knights' turn to play the rugby, and some real determination from Thomas Colcombe and some fantastic support from Owain, Harry and Lewi eventually saw the gap created for BJ to score the winning try. The final whistle went on another epic, low-scoring encounter which saw The Knights under 8’s once again come out on top by one try.

A tough day in tough conditions which saw the Knights victorious – Well done everyone !!

Keeping the ball hidden !!

So many choices - so little time !

Sneaking past!

Ooh ooh ooh - staying alive !

Come here !!

Jacksons of Arley: latest Miracle Drywash resellers

Major camping and caravanning stockists, Jacksons of Arley, add Miracle Drywash to their shelves

The list of Miracle Drywash resellers is getting longer and longer. The latest addition is Jacksons of Arley, near Coventry.

From left to right: Harry Jackson, Martin Jackson, 

Miracle Drywash display and SJ

SJ was even invited to the company's showroom last Sunday (28th Feb) to demonstrate the waterless car wash product to Jacksons' customers and answer their questions.

Harry and Martin Jackson in front of their 1964 Austin A35 Van 
which took centre stage on the Jackson stand at the recent 

National Boat Caravan and Outdoor Show at the NEC. 

"Telephone Fillongley 878" - so quaint!

"Thank you to Jackson of Arley for inviting me to your shop - it was a fun day," says SJ.  "Here's to a long and successful business relationship."

About Jacksons of Arley

Established in 1963, Jacksons of Arley is the largest stockists of camping, caravanning, outdoor clothing and spares and accessory equipment in the Midlands, stocking everything for the outdoor enthusiast at the best prices. It is the original family-run one-stop camping and caravanning shop, featuring over 22,000 square feet of permanent indoor display area!

Jacksons of Arley

Spring Hill Industrial Estate

Old Arley

Near Coventry

CV7 8HN

01676 540878

http://www.jacksonscamping.com

Rugby: Doncaster Knights Under 8’s vs Selby

This week saw the Miracle Drywash and Autoglass® sponsored Doncaster Knights Under 8’s head just up the A19 to Selby. 

Some space at last

It was an early start as Selby had some important visitors in the afternoon, but that didn’t stop us getting 2 teams onto the field. Selby are always a tough opposition, and the immediate physical nature of this game showed today would be no exception. 

Charge

During training, the boys are slowly being introduced to contact play in preparation for next season, and it is always tough to play against teams at this time of the season as, inevitably, some of these new skills creep into matches. Today was going to be one of those days and, although on one pitch, we were clearly able to hold our own, on the other, we spent more time picking ourselves up off the floor than actually playing rugby. 

It's hot, it's hot, it's hot!

Once the boys settled down, they were able to work really hard and throw the ball around in their usual manner, and were unfortunately just edged out. Our other team, however, had done us proud, and lead by Ethan, who was getting his first taste of captaincy, they managed to just sneak a result. Before the second games, the coaches made some changes, and with renewed vigour, both teams set about their tasks. The determination was excellent, with both teams really driving forwards, and the results reflected that. 

Ian tries to sneak in

This was a great day for the boys, they played with a smile and enjoyment, and when our newest player, Lewi, and Harry collected the team effort award, and the smile that came from an ‘old’ head in Dan, as player of the day, showed what our team is all about. 

Almost through

The results take care of themselves, and playing as a team is what we are about, and the hard-earned draw in the second game was a result of that team ethic – well done everyone !

Has somebody dropped this?

Halftime

A Day At The Park

Doncaster Knights Under 8's Training

All ears

Hands ready

Looking for the support

With the pitches declared unplayable again this week at Castle Park, the Miracle Drywash and Autoglass-sponsored Doncaster Knights Under 8's headed to the park, determined not to let their preparations for next week's festival be affected.

The fresh morning air went to everyone's head with even the coaches joining in the warm up run around the park!! It wasn't long before everyone had got used to the 'soft' ground, and the boys were running through their passing exercises with real confidence, and even when the coaches introduced some more tricky stages, the team looked relaxed and confident in their approach.

The expanding squad worked really hard together and there was some crisp passing on display in the final practice match, where Dan Pendergast showed some strength and determination in his running and passing, and the support play from Owain Herring would have given England a boost the day before.

This is a TEAM with ability throughout, and they go into next week's festival with the aim of having some real fun, and who knows what is possible!! Good luck boys.

Anyone for a mudbath ??

Oliver times his pass

Conor bursts through

BJ finds the gap

Sunday saw the Miracle Drywash and Autoglass®-sponsored Doncaster Knights Under 8's head to the North of the county to test themselves against a strong Harrogate outfit.

Once they had found their way across the mud planes to the slightly more solid ground of the pitch, they set about their task. Conor Gilmore picked up where he left off last week, collecting TAGS for souvenirs and scoring his first ever try for the club.

Despite the snow that was starting to fall, the Knights team pressured well and were unlucky to be edged out 7 tries to 6 in the first game.

The team huddled together and hatched a master plan for the second game, and with some great defence and pressure, causing several mistakes from Harrogate, Player of the Day, Thomas Colcombe, led the way with some determined running and great support from Aaron Donald, BJ Howe and Niall Bates - saw Doncaster take control and run out winners by 19 tries to 9. An excellent result which saw the whole squad smiling through the shivers.

Next week sees the team take on Bradford and Bingley with the chance to overturn the slip up from earlier in the season - GOOD LUCK BOYS !!

Aaron leading the U8s on the attack

Huddling in the cold and the mud

He draws, he passes, Niall catches, runs and scores. Crowd cheers!


Doncaster Knights Under 8's
http://www.drfc.co.uk/MoreRugby/Junior/under8s/

Back to Winning Ways !

The Doncaster Knights' winning run

A lengthy lay off over the crisp mornings of the Christmas period hasn’t stopped the Doncaster Knights' winning run. Sunday 11th January saw a tough trip to Castleford, where the boys showed some of the great passing skill they had been working on in training to earn two very tough and very muddy wins. This earned them the chance to be the first official game played in front of the new stand at their home ground – Castle Park; and despite most people preferring to stay in the warm of the bar, the boys were determined to do what they do best – ENJOY THEMSELVES.

They were faced with an enthusiastic Goole team, with the very vocal support of their coaches and supporters, but even changing the entire team at half time didn’t disrupt the flow and led, as always, by captain BJ Howe with great support from the entire the team, but especially from player of the day, Aaron Donald, and the hardest worker of them all, Ben Rivers.

They fought out a tough draw and then two hard-earned victories.

The run continues for the Miracle Drywash-backed team !!

Miracle Drywash now available in 5 countries with nearly 50 retailers, and used by over 30 valeters

The wonderful, environmentally-friendly waterless carwash product, Miracle Drywash, now has distributors in 5 countries - namely Australia, Denmark, the UK (including distributors in Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man), Hungary and The Netherlands.

It is sold through nearly 50 retailers including some very high profile names such as Dairy Crest, Marks & Spencer, Autoglass, Towsure, members of the Caravan Club and ebay (see Lake Renewable Energy and 7 Yetis Trading) and is used by around 30 valeters including Autoglass.