Lewis Thiede will reach a major milestone this weekend as he makes his 100th appearance for Doncaster Knights. 

The tight head prop reflects on the occasion: “I think it’s a mix of emotions, really. Starting out my rugby journey here in the mini juniors is something you only aspire to just to make it, to get on the pitch just once.”

Having come through the club’s junior and academy system, Thiede admits the journey to 100 appearances has not been straightforward, with a long spell away from Castle Park before returning later in his career “Having quite a big break in between has made it strange, because I started my career here, then went on and played for different clubs, and now I’ve come back towards the end of my career. It’s quite strange because I’ve now got a family.”

Thiede’s family will be watching on this weekend, making the occasion even more special. “I’ve got two kids who come and watch, and it’s going to be special for me and my family, my mum and dad as well, obviously, for everything they’ve done throughout the years. It’s nice for them to come and see that it was all worth something.”

Reaching 100 games for the Knights has always been a target for Thiede, even though his career path took him away from Doncaster earlier on. “It’s a milestone that I’ve always wanted to hit. When I was growing up, I didn’t want to be a person that went from club to club, but when I was here originally I got an opportunity to go to Wasps and move to the Premiership.”

After stints at Wasps, Bristol Bears and Ealing, he returned to his boyhood club. “I’m so happy to be back here. Playing not just 100 games, but 100 games for my home club. It’s massive.”

Looking back, Thiede still remembers his first appearance in a Doncaster shirt. “The first game I played was a pre-season friendly against Glasgow Warriors. I came off the bench and I scrummaged really well, but if you asked me what I did that was good, I couldn’t tell you. I didn’t really know what I was doing.”

“I had brilliant mentors. Massimo was our scrum coach then and he was brilliant for me. There would’ve been a process behind it, but that’s the only thing I really remember.”

He reflected on his highlights from his time at the club: “The games against Ealing last season, those wins were nice because they were top of the pyramid, and it was good to show what we’re about as a team.”

“From when I was first here to now, it’s the same. It’s just a good group of lads, a good group of blokes, and it’s a privilege to be able to put on the shirt.”

As a Doncaster local, representing the club in front of a home crowd holds special significance. “I’m from Doncaster,  I don’t go to the shop without seeing somebody who’s a fan, or someone I’ve played rugby with, or something like that. So to be able to play in front of a home crowd is special.”

With friends, parents, partner and children all set to be in attendance, Thiede is looking forward to marking the milestone in familiar surroundings. “My mum and dad will be here, my partner and kids will be here watching. They’re getting really into it, so it’s exciting. It’s a really nice way to do it at home.”

Darren Fearn and Sir Ian McGeechan have named their team to face Caldy at Castle Park tomorrow. 

Lewis Thiede starts in the front row for his 100th appearance at Doncaster Knights, he is joined by loose head Conor Davidson and Hooker Fred Davies.

Adam Hopkinson comes into the second row to join Ehize Ehizode. With Rhys Tait slotting back into the starting line up in the back row. Josh Bainbridge keeps his spot as the other Flanker, with Jasper McGuire starting at 8.

Big news in the back line as Alex Dolly returns from a long injury to start at scrum half, pairing up with Morgan Bunting at fly half.  

Our centre partnership remains unchanged as Zach Kerr and Joe Margetts line up alongside each other. Both the Olowofela twins start on opposing wings, with Telusa Veainu the full back between them. 

Ben Chapman is named as the replacement hooker, alongside replacement props, Logovi’i Mulipola and Ethan Hulme. East Timor Viliamu and Rueben Parsons are the remaining forward replacements. 

Sale Sharks loan player, Nye Thomas is named as the replacement scrum half. With Connor Edwards and Matt McNab the impact backs. 

The game at Castle Park kicks off at 2:30, secure your tickets here!

SQUAD: 1. Conor Davidson 2. Fred Davies, 3. Lewis Thiede, 4. Ehize Ehizode, 5. Adam Hopkinson, 6. Rhys Tait 7. Josh Bainbridge, 8. Jasper McGuire, 9. Alex Dolly. 10. Morgan Bunting, 11. Jordan Olowofela, 12. Zach Kerr 13. Joe Margetts, 14. Ryan Olowofela, 15. Telusa Veainu

REPLACEMENTS: 16. Ben Chapman, 17. Logovi’i Mulipola, 18. Ethan Hulme, 19. East Timor Viliamu, 20. Rueben Parsons, 21. Nye Thomas, 22. Connor Edwards, 23. Matt McNab.  

Unavailable for selection: Andrew Turner, Josh Williams, Thom Smith, Joe Jones, Russell Bennett, Olllie Fox, Morgan Jones, Ben Murphy, Semesa Rokoduguni, Connor Hancock, Tye Raymont

Everyone at Doncaster Knights is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of lifelong supporter, John Bullman. 

John passed away on 21st December 2025. He was a hugely valued member of the Doncaster Knights community and supported the Knights both home and away. 

The club would like to extend our deepest condolences to all John’s friends and family. Our thoughts are with everyone who knew him at this sad time. 

Doncaster Knights are delighted to announce the signing of Hooker, Corey Tait for the remainder of the season. 

Corey Tait is the younger brother of current Knights player, Rhys Tait, and has joined the Yorkshire club after spending the first half of the season captaining Selkirk RFC . Selkirk RFC compete in the Arnold Clark’s Scottish Premiership and Border League.

Doncaster Knights suffered a 34-10 defeat to London Scottish in a festive away fixture at The RAG. 

The hosts used the power of their pack to get over for the first score of the game, a penalty allowed them entry into the 22 and the driving maul finished the job. They added the extras to go 7-0 up. 

A penalty at the breakdown allowed them to extend the lead by three. Shorty after, The Knights managed to slot three points of their own through Morgan Bunting’s boot. 10-3

The Knights then carried the momentum into the next play, and worked their way up to the 22. They executed the line out perfectly and Ehize Ehizode drove the ball over, but the referee deemed it disallowed for obstruction. 

Scottish played to the momentum of the Knights disallowed try and soon found their way over the line again. It was the drive of their maul that sealed their final try of the half. A successful conversion meant the half time score was 17-3.

The hosts opened the scores in the second half with a break from full back, Josh Bellamy. He ran into space before drawing in the final defender and moving the ball to supporting scrum half Jonny Law. Conversion added, 24-3. 

Doncaster’s highlight of the game followed, with a brilliant try from Matt McNab. Telusa Veainu broke the line out wide, and ate up meters on the wing, before the ball is moved between J Olowofela and Matt McNab. 

McNab pops the ball to Veainu, allowing him to draw in the final defender, before giving it back to McNab to finish the job. Bunting adds the extras, 27-10. 

London Scottish secure their win with one final try. The Knights defend the driving maul well, but the backs needed to get involved, leaving the space out wide for a long ball to the wing. With the conversion added, the final score was 34-10. 

The Knights return to Castle Park next week to face Caldy on January 3rd. Secure your tickets now. 

Doncaster Knights travel back to the Richmond Athletic Ground again tomorrow to face London Scottish in round 12 of Champ Rugby. 

Darren Fearn and Sir Ian McGeechan have named their side to take on the challenge. Ben Chapman comes into the starting team at Hooker after a solid second half performance last week. The props either side of him remain unchanged in Conor Davidson and Lewis Thiede. 

Our second row also remains unchanged in captain Ben Murphy and Ehize Ehizode. With our back row also staying the same, Josh Bainbridge and Adam Hopkinson will flank, with Japser McGuire at number eight. 

Our replacement front row consists of Fred Davies at hooker, and props Logovi’i Mulipola and Ethan Hulme. Second Row Morgan Jones is named on the bench, alongside flanker, Rhys Tait who will make his return from a small head injury.

Cameron Kelemeti gets a start at scrum half, with Morgan Bunting returning to the squad at 10 to be his half back partner. Our centres remain unchanged, with Zach Kerr on the inside and Joe Margetts on the outside. 

The Olowofela twins light up each wing, with Jordan at 11 and Ryan at 14. Telusa Veainu is the full back between them. 

Nye Thomas is listed as the replacement scrum half after a good debut off the bench last week, with Connor Edwards and Matt McNab also named in the replacements. 

SQUAD: 1. Conor Davidson 2. Ben Chapman, 3. Lewis Thiede, 4. Ehize Ehizode, 5. Ben Murphy (C), 6. Adam Hopkinson 7. Josh Bainbridge, 8. Jasper McGuire, 9. Cameron Kelemeti. 10. Morgan Bunting, 11. Jordan Olowofela, 12. Zach Kerr 13. Joe Margetts, 14. Ryan Olowofela, 15. Telusa Veainu

REPLACEMENTS: 16. Fred Davies, 17. Logovi’i Mulipola, 18. Ethan Hulme, 19. Morgan Jones, 20. Rhys Tait, 21. Nye Thomas, 22. Connor Edwards, 23. Matt McNab.  

Unavailable for selection: Andrew Turner, Josh Williams, Thom Smith, Alex Dolly, Joe Jones, Russell Bennett, Olllie Fox, Semesa Rokoduguni, Aidan Cross, Connor Hancock, Tye Raymont 

Doncaster Knights kicked off the festive away games with a 7-31 bonus point win in the capital. 

Richmond were the first to get over the try line as they shipped the ball out wide to go over in the corner and added the extras. 0-7. 

However, the Knights soon warmed into the game as Ben Murphy won the ball at the breakdown to give the Knights a chance to attack. 

The back line moved the ball quickly between themselves in a nice play that brought Donny into the 22. Ollie Fox showed quick thinking by picking the ball at the breakdown before popping it to Josh Bainbridge. Bainbridge finished the job with a dive over the line. 7-5. Fox added the conversion 7-7.

Just two minutes later and Fox was working his magic yet again! Ryan Olowofela carried hard to gain a few extra meters before Telusa Veainu picked up the ball and used his notorious footwork to open up space. Fox ran the support line and received the final pass, before displaying a brilliant Dummy to get himself over the whitewash. Fox added the extras to his own try. 7-14. 

With five minutes left of the first half, Fox contributed to yet another score. He picked the ball from the back of the breakdown and somehow slithered his way through three Richmond defenders. He played the ball out to Conor Davidson, who had a clear path to the line. 7-19. 

Richmond didn’t make it easy for the Knights in the second half as it was scoreless until 65 minutes in. R Olowofela then kept the scoring alive with a nice finish in the corner after a well timed pass from Veainu opened the gap. Cameron Kelemeti added the extras 7-26. 

Richmond worked their way down the other end of the pitch on a handful of occasions but the Knights put in some big defensive efforts to hold the hosts out. 

With the clock in the red, Jordan Olowofela managed to score one final try for Donny. R Olowofela broke the line and tipped the ball to Veainu. Veainu then made the final pass out wide to J Olowofela, who finished the job in the corner. Full time score 7-31. 

The knights are back at The Rag next weekend to face London Scottish on Saturday 27th of December. 

Doncaster Knights will travel to Richmond on Friday night for the first of two festive fixtures at the RAG. Darren Fearn and Sir Ian McGeechan have named there squad as follows. 

In the front row Lewis Thiede comes into the starting line up to partner up with loose head Conor Davidson. Fred Davies remains our starting hooker, with Ben Chapman on the bench alongside props, Logovi’i Mulipola and Ethan Hulme. Hulme is a player who comes from Newcastle University, who provided cover in the front row last season, and has returned to us for a short period as injury cover again. 

The second row remains unchanged with captain Ben Murphy and Ehize Ehizode. Jasper McGuire returns to number eight, with Josh Bainbridge and Adam Hopkinson the flankers either side of him. 

Second Row Morgan Jones is named on the bench, as well as newly announced loan player Reuben Parsons. 

Ollie Fox starts at scrum half again, with Cameron Kelemeti starting at fly half. Joe Margetts comes back into the squad to start in the centres with Zach Kerr, shifting Semesa Rokoduguni back out to the wing. Aidan Cross starts on the other wing, with Telusa Veainu at fullback. 

Nye Thomas, our newly announced scrum half loan is named at 21. With the final two spaces on the bench being filled up by the Olowofela twins. 

SQUAD: 1. Conor Davidson 2. Fred Davies, 3. Lewis Thiede, 4. Ehize Ehizode, 5. Ben Murphy (C), 6. Adam Hopkinson 7. Josh Bainbridge, 8. Jasper McGuire, 9. Ollie Fox. 10. Cameron Kelemeti, 11. Aidan Cross, 12. Zach Kerr 13. Joe Margetts, 14. Semesa Rokoduguni, 15. Telusa Veainu

REPLACEMENTS: 16. Ben Chapman, 17. Logovi’i Mulipola, 18. Ethan Hulme, 19. Morgan Jones, 20. Reuben Parsons, 21. Nye Thomas, 22. Ryan Olowofela, 23. Jordan Olowofela.  

Unavailable for selection: Andrew Turner, Josh Williams, Thom Smith, Alex Dolly, Joe Jones, Connor Edwards, Russell Bennett, Morgan Bunting, East Timor Viliamu, Rhys Tait, Connor Hancock, Tye Raymont 

Doncaster Knights have added to their squad with the addition of scrum half, Nye Thomas from Sale Sharks and Back Row, Reuben Parsons from Newcastle Red Bulls. 

Parsons is a Cumbrian back-rower who joined the senior academy at Newcastle in the summer of 2024, having come through the club’s ACE programme at Gosforth Academy. Appearing eight times for Newcastle in the Premiership U18s League, Reuben was invited to an England U18s camp but unfortunately missed out on selection due to injury. Reuben made his first team debut for Newcastle in 2024-25 during the EPCR Challenge Cup home game against French club Montpellier, going on to score one try in his five appearances that season.

Thomas is a product of the Sale Sharks Academy. He shot to prominence in the early stages of the 2021/22 season when he made his Sharks debut just six months after completing his studies at Liverpool College.

Nye appeared as a second half replacement in the Gallagher Premiership fixture against Northampton Saints and in doing so, became the youngest Sale Sharks scrum-half in the league’s history. Nye had been a stand-out player as he rose through the age groups at Liverpool College and his local rugby club, Sefton RUFC.

Doncaster Knights would like to give both a warm welcome to Castle Park. 

Doncaster Knights Rugby Club were delighted to support the Cash4Kids Christmas Mission by delivering a kit van full of toys and presents to their South Yorkshire headquarters today.

First-team players Ollie Fox and Russell Bennett helped drop off the donations at Mission HQ, where volunteers were working tirelessly to sort gifts into age categories and organise deliveries to families who would otherwise go without presents on Christmas Day.

During their visit, the players toured the warehouse and spoke with volunteers to learn more about the incredible work that goes on behind the scenes, helping to “save Christmas” for so many local families.

The Knights are proud to support such an important cause within the local community and would like to thank everyone involved in donating, sorting, and delivering gifts to ensure children across South Yorkshire can experience some festive magic this Christmas.

We would like to thank anyone who contributed to the club’s collection of toys and gifts! If you missed out, Mission Christmas are still taking donations up until tomorrow (Dec 18th) so find you’re nearest drop off point ASAP: https://cashforkids.org.uk/mission-christmas/drop-off-points/