On Sunday 19 October 2008 Ionians hosted a strong Doncaster squad who without doubt were determined to win. Ionians had several years worth of successes and although a couple of key players were being rested, they retained the upper hand.
Doncaster stepped up with their usual ferocity, their powerful pack now strengthened by the recently aquired No 4 from the County / Leeds programme.
Ionians held some of their power houses back for the 2nd half, and for 10 minutes were in charge. Although Doncaster saw more of the ball, Ionians looked more dangerous and when centre Henry Waine was shown a bit of space, he raced 40 yards before placing a clever chip towards the line. Full back Sam Wilson then outstripped the Donny defence to touch the ball down.
Torkington converted and for a while I's were in charge.
To their credit, Doncaster's pack hit back and began to dominate the game as some of the Ionians forwards looked on. Doncaster played a kicking game throughout, wasting so much possession but after 20 minutes they started to utilise what the forwards worked so hard to give them. After several big drives, the number 6 drove over the line and although they failed to convert, a later penalty saw their 10 kick them into a 8 - 7 lead.
Big games from Doris, Hodges and Midgeley held back the Doncaster charge.
After the break, Doncaster looked confident and went all out to win. A kick to no where resulted in a 5m scrum and as the 8 popped the ball to the 9, enough space was created for the I's defence to be breached.
A missed conversion followed by a penalty saw Donny take a significant lead but Ionian's determination to avoid defeat saw Josh Thundercliffe power over the line followed by a scintillating run by Henry Waine which allowed Isaac Green to kick for victory.
Ionians won by 19 points to 16 and retained their unbeaten record but new they 'd been in a game. Although the match had seen some unnecessary nastiness, both teams were responsible for an excellent display of junior Rugby.
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