Doncaster Toll Bar quit Pennine League for summer rugby

The club plan to follow the move made by local rivals Bentley Good Companions last year and switch to summer rugby.

“It’s been a difficult decision and one that hasn’t been taken lightly,” said coach Ian Tattersall. “We have enjoyed our time in the Pennine League over the last four seasons and have great respect and admiration for the job the committee have done and also the other clubs.

“However, we don’t feel the competition is a viable one for us to carry on playing in.

“A division with six teams in it was always going to be difficult to sustain and the lack of matches and constant postponements have become too much for us to keep accepting.

“We believe we’ve done a lot of good work over the last four years developing our squad and that is being jeopardised.”

“We have also thought long and hard about the benefits of having a club that has open age rugby being played for 12 months a year and bringing in constant income for the club and as such we have contacted the Yorkshire Men’s League regarding entry to their competition and they have made us aware that the YML Premier Division starts at the beginning of April.”

He added: “We currently run a 2nd team in the Pennine League and want to continue to fulfill our Division Four (East) fixtures and continue to be competitive at that level for the foreseeable future.”