The Doncaster Mustangs were beaten 41-16 by the Bristol Aztecs in
the Division 1A semi-final at East Retford rugby club.
The visitors only led 6-0 at half-time but vanquished hopes of a
return to the Don Valley Stadium for the Stangs by scoring five rushing touchdowns after
the interval.
The teams traded interceptions on their opening possessions before
defenses took over for the remaining of the first period.
Some of the Stangs' offensive bite was taken away when running
back Scott Goddard was forced out of the game with a knee injury and Bristol took the lead
when quarterback Dave Keen connected with Kevin Shelbourn in the end zone.
The Aztecs then changed the face of the game with touchdowns on
their first two possessions in the second period, Chris Taylor and Tom Proctor doing the
damage.
And the game was out of reach when NFLe triallist Taylor added his
second for a 26-0 lead early in the fourth quarter.
In a frenetic finale to the match the teams exchanged scores
amidst a plethora of penalties.
Doncaster quarterback Graham Lightfoot connected with Ian
McCartney and Paul Oates while Taylor completed his hat-trick and Shelbourne broke several
tackles to score on an end around for Bristol.
The West Country outfit will now meet the Chiltern Cheetahs in the
final in Sheffield on September 24.
After the game, head coach Doug McLean announced his retirement
and guard Richard Barker revealed he will also be sitting out the 2006 season when the
Mustangs compete in Division One of the British game.