Doncaster Knights v Nottingham Rugby
9 May 2026 | Castle Park | Elior Champ Rugby
In an entertaining game that saw 15 tries, 99 points and a season try-scoring record for the departing James Cherry of Nottingham, it was Doncaster who came out on top 54-45, pipping the Archers to eighth place in the final standings in the process.
Converted tries by George Timmins and Kegan Christian-Goss for the visitors were sandwiched by a brace by Alex Dolly for the Knights before Cherry set the record for the most tries in a single season for Nottingham when he crossed approaching the half hour mark.
Quick feet by full back Harry Simpson created an opening for him to run it in from 22 metres to further extend the Archers’ lead before they were pegged back Ben Chapman and Connor Edwards, making it 26-26 at the break.
Nottingham retook the lead around 10 minutes after the restart after good work in midfield by Alex Garrett set up an attack that eventually saw the ball reach Will Yarnell to cross between the sticks.
That was the catalyst for Doncaster, having seen their opponents control much of the first period, to improve their defence and become more incisive in attack, registering a further four unanswered tries. Scores by forward Jasper McGuire, the award of a penalty try and thrilling breaks by backs Matt McNab and Zach Kerr established a firm grip on the game.
Garrett and Cherry, extending his own record, crossed late on, with Gwyn Parks’s conversions bringing the Archers within nine but the losing bonus point just eluded them.
Nottingham Head Coach Craig Hammond reflected on the season as a whole and looked forward to next year: “It’s disappointing not to finish in the top six. We lost momentum today in the second half when things went wrong. Our attacks were some of the best this season in the first half. I can’t fault the efforts of the lads and already we’ve retained more than 20 players for next season.”