Michael Heaney scored two tries as London Scottish succumbed to Doncaster Knights in the Greene King IPA Championship.

Scottish were hoping to restore some pride after receiving a 72-12 thumping away at Ealing Trailfinders last weekend, while Doncaster’s last game saw them defeat Nottingham 32-26.

The match got off to a cagey start and it took just over 20 minutes for the deadlock to be broken.

A blistering break from Doncaster outside-centre Andy Bulumakau eventually led to the visitors winning a penalty, which Heaney elected to tap. Taking Scottish completely by surprise, he went over in the corner to put his side into a 5-0 lead.

The hosts then grabbed a try of their own just after the half-hour mark, with some probing down the left leading to Joe Atkinson finding space on the left to charge home.

However, it was Clive Griffiths’ men who dominated the territory and chances during the first period and it was no surprise when Tyson Lewis demonstrated dancing feet to evade a few tackles and successfully ground the ball.

The second half saw the South Yorkshire side pick up where they left off, Heaney scurrying through a gap from close quarters after concerted pressure on the Scottish line.

A successful penalty apiece kept the Knights ten points in front, but Scottish were handed a lifeline when Atkinson showed the away side a clean pair of heels to halve the deficit.

However, any hopes of a morale-boosting home win were dashed when Will Owen capitalised on poor handling from Craig Holland, collecting a pass from Dave Nelson to race clear.

But despite the defeat, Atkinson was pleased with the improvements made by the side.

“Their [Doncaster’s] pack was very big and formidable, so we knew that they would come in with driving maul and we worked on that from last week," he said.

“We conceded seven tries last week in the maul and this week we didn’t concede any, so that’s a massive positive.

“We had something to come back and prove last week wasn’t something that London Scottish are all about and we knew we had to come back and produce a big reaction this week. I think we did that.

“Our basics were lacking in some aspects, but the performance was a massive positive after last week.”

“It’s always nice to get on the scoresheet, but I was just lucky to have the boys beside me to put me into those positions.”