Slick Knights on a roll in perfect match

It is quite different playing in a stadium on a soccer surface and and one player who really enjoyed doing so was Mark Woodrow who had yet another perfect goal kicking day which, in the end, was the difference between two very good teams.

He converted all four tries and succeeded with his four penalty attempts to bag 20 points all on his own. His percentage record over the first five matches is 93.3% which surprisingly doesn't put him top of the National One list – he is second behind Bedford's Jon Elrick, who hasn't had as many to kick. Woody practices as hard as Jonny Wilkinson and is still improving.

Nottingham were the toughest opponents so far ("by a mile" according to director of rugby Lynn Howells) but with five minutes to go and leading 40-22, the Knights let their guard drop and conceded two late tries that gave their hosts two losing bonus points – one for four tries and one for being within seven points.

Half as good as a win for them! Certainly their fans felt the score line flattered them considerably.

Howells, though, was at last pleased,

"For the first time we played a structured game for the full 80 minutes", he said. "The players are starting to understand what I want from them and there is plenty improvement to come."

The weekend got even better on Monday night when the "A" teams met at Castle Park with the Knights winning a close game by 27-16 with two late tries.

The Knights fielded a pack that could have been a first team pack, and with Dave Scully and new signing Tom Luke at half back, produced a stream of possession for an Academy back line to play with against much more experienced Nottingham backs. It made for a compelling contest before a modest crowd of 150.

There really should be greater interest in these matches – the quality, pace and physicality on offer is eye catching and often quite breathtaking!

One big plus from the weekend was the return from injury of Ben Jones, now fully fit after missing the start of the season.

Another will be the return from World Cup duty of Luke Gross as the US Eagles were eliminated at the pool stage.With the big game against Northampton now looming (13 October) a fully fit squad is just what the Knights are hoping for.

One man still not in contention is centre John Cannon. He suffered a heavy concussion in pre season and is not yet allowed back into contact training.

His condition is improving but being closely monitored by the medical team. That apart, only Paul Bailey picked up any injury last weekend that will rule him out of this week's game – a minor knee twist should recover within a fortnight.

The Knights' big night live on Sky Sports on Friday 26th October v Plymouth Albion is aking a lot of questions of the club organisation! With an array of live broadcast trucks and cameras, and a large commentary and main camera gantry that will close off the East stand, it will be quite a night.

The club now have on sale a limited number of 500 discounted family tickets for the occasion to be sold as first-come, first-served basis by contacting the club office on 01302 831388.

This Saturday sees an old favourite return to his roots.

Russell Earnshaw, of Doncaster and Rotherham pedigree, is now player-coach of the Pertemps Bees otherwise known as Birmingham & Solihull, who are the Knights opponents on Saturday (2.30pm).

The Bees lie bottom of the table but are known to be looking forward to being the first club to beat the Knights this season.

The Knights will have no thoughts of the Northampton trip until after this match and Howells has publically said this week that any player who doesn't play well this week can't expect to play at Franklin's Gardens.

Howells wants another full on 80 minutes of structured heads-up rugby, and a clinical approach to part-time opponents who should be despatched in some style.

Before that game, the Academy XV are hosting the Leeds Carnegie Academy with a 12 noon kick off.

With the England v Australia World Cup quarter final being recorded and shown "as live" immediately after the Bees match at 4pm. It will be a full day of rugby at the Castle!