Just days after it was announced that the loose-headed mainstay had secured a well-deserved move from the Premiership to the London Wasps next season, partner Rachel gave birth to their first daughter, Ruby, last Saturday.
Today, Hislop is back on the field in one of the most anticipated games of the season, looking for his current team to win in the leaders Ealing Trailfinders who will carry the battle for the top two until the final weekend.
“Everything is happening at once,” he said. The Yorkshire Post.
“We are very excited. I took them both home on Monday.
“It’s amazing (parenting). It’s a surreal moment and you can’t really describe it unless you’ve been there yourself. I’m glad everyone is fine and healthy.
“However, it means that I have not trained much this week. I only came back on Wednesday. I really wanted to do it, as it is a very exciting week for the club ”.
Doncaster, who has excelled in Steve Boden’s first season in charge, has been in second place for much of this truncated campaign, but was pushed into third place when the Saracens played their game in hand on Monday night, defeating Ampthill 69-12.
Most people expected the Saracens to return straight to the Premiership after relegation, but their shocking day one loss to the Cornish Pirates quickly reminded the star-studded squad that things are not always simple in the second division.
That said, they haven’t lost since and a win at Coventry tonight, coupled with a part-time home win over Hartpury in the final round next weekend, will see them safe in the play-off final of two-stage promotion.
Ealing, a big spender, has also rarely relented, losing just once and scoring a staggering 467 points in his nine league games.
However, few could have expected Doncaster, with a young and renewed team, to win all but one of its eight games and that is why nothing has been decided yet.
Nine points behind Ealing, they face a heinous task, in all likelihood knowing, unless the Saracens implode in spectacular fashion, they must secure a bonus point win today and the same from next Saturday’s final game against Nottingham at Castle. Park to have any chance of being in the top two.
Hislop, 29, said: “It will be difficult but not impossible.
“The Saracens are an incredibly good outfit and Ealing is an exceptional outfit too.
“But we have earned the right to have something to play for at this stage of the season.
“If we could go there and get a result, it would be great. We’re not really thinking of getting five points, it will be quite difficult to win at Ealing.
“But if we have 15 or 20 minutes to go and we are in a position to go for those permutations, then God we will.”
Ealing’s only loss was last month’s 48-20 loss to rising rivals Saracens.
Hislop admitted: “They are a quality team. You see some of the scores they are putting on teams like Hartpury and Jersey: 60 and 70 points.
“They are much better at home than outside. That 3G ringtone is a pretty old 3G. I don’t think it’s for the best.
“But they train and do their best for it, so they are so used to it. I think a lot of teams struggle when they go there, but we train on 3G behind the main field at Castle Park.
“And instead of focusing on his game, we seek to try to do what we do well, as it has worked well for us this season.
“The teams we’ve had in previous years at Doncaster, the names have probably been better, but now we have an incredibly tight-knit group that works incredibly hard for each other.”
The former Edinburgh mainstay, who was on loan at Saracens last year, has been at Doncaster since 2018, but will link up with his former Rotherham Titans coach Lee Blackett at Wasps next term.
Hislop said: “I had a bit of interest from some Premiership clubs after the Sarries loan, but I know Lee very well.
“Also, Rachel and I are godparents to the daughter of Tom Cruse (the former Wasps prostitute in Rotherham).
“He is one of my best friends. It all made sense. They play a great kind of rugby and have some really good loose heads, but I’d like to think that I can raise my hand and have some playing time as well. “
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Source: www.yorkshirepost.co.uk
This notice was published: 2021-05-21 22:03:02
