Doncaster Knights need just one point from their remaining Pool 4 game to be guaranteed a home tie in the quarter-finals of the British & Irish Cup.
Saturday’s sensational 31-30 victory at Cornish Pirates cemented their position at the top of the group ahead of this weekend’s home game against Cross Keys when they will be bidding for their sixth win in as many starts in the competition.
Knights had looked likely to finish with nothing to show for their efforts when trailing 30-10 at the start of the third quarter but they stunned the home side by scoring three unanswered tries to claim a bonus point win.
“We hadn’t had a lot of the ball in the first hour,” said Knights boss Clive Griffiths.
“That was partly due to the penalty count being heavily in their favour, but when we started to get some possession we caused them problems.
“We scored a nice try then Dougie (Flockhart) pulled off a great interception and fed Paul Jarvis who was up in support and suddenly we were back in the game.
“It was a tremendous comeback and it just shows what spirit and commitment there is in the side, as was the case last season.
“Any team who plays against us know that we play for the full 80 minutes,
Griffiths added: “We’ve suffered quite a few late defeats against Pirates, who have proved something of a bogey team over the years, so it was payback time on Saturday.”
Saturday’s opponents Cross Keys cannot reach the quarter-finals.