Born in Wales, second row Ben Murphy was a product of the regional pathways in Wales, beginning his rugby career at Abercynon for their junior squads, and played there until he was 18.
In 2014, he then signed for Merthyr RFC, who at the time, were in the Welsh Championship. Murphy had a successful 3 years at the South Walian side, aiding in their epic success by winning the Championship in his second season and immediately winning the Welsh Premiership the season after.
In 2017, Ben was spotted by URC team, Cardiff Blues, and that was where he spent a lengthy period of his career. It was part-way through the 2021/22 season that Murphy ended his contract early with the Welsh capital, and made his way up to Doncaster in the November after only making 19 appearances for Cardiff.
Ben is now one of the longest serving members of the current squad, and on 43 caps for the Knights, will surely hit his half century for the club this season. A silent leader within the squad, everyone in the forwards looks up to Ben (literally!), setting an exemplary standard in training, and as a result, has been rewarded with the role of captaincy this season.
Russell Bennett established himself as a major piece to the Knights’ puzzle last season, ending as top point scorer for Doncaster with 115 points in 16 games.
Bennett has been rugby-obsessed from a young age, working his way through the London Irish academy age groups before focusing his attention to university rugby, where he played for Cardiff Metropolitan, an established team in the BUCS Super Rugby league.
Russell then went on to play for Ampthill at the back end of the 2020/21 season, and had a stellar tenure with the London-based club, before a move to Jersey Reds in 2022/23, helping his side win the division title the same year.
However, due to Jersey’s financial situation last season, Bennett’s contract was terminated and he was quickly snapped up by Doncaster last season. This year sees his first full campaign with the Knights, and we cannot wait for all that Russell has to offer.
Born just down the road in Rotherham, Morgan Bunting has had an exciting start to his career thus far, and is an exciting prospect amongst Championship clubs, and Doncaster Knights are very fortunate to have them this season.
His passion for rugby started from a very young age at school and club level, playing for Wath-upon-Dearne. From there his ability and skills only improved, as he was brought into the Leeds Carnegie academy at 14-years-old and remained a reliable member of their set-up until 2018.
From 2018-2020, Morgan was part of the U20 Yorkshire side, and played in two consecutive Jason Leonard Cups, a tournament where every county battle it out. In his first campaign, he helped Yorkshire win the tournament, dominating throughout, and winning the final 52-5 against Lancashire. In the following season, Bunting was honoured with the captain’s armband, however, due to the pandemic, his reign as captain was cut short.
Whilst all this was happening, he continued his studies at Bishop Burton University, playing consistently for the university and also playing club rugby for Hull Ionians and Rotherham Titans. In his final year at university, Bunting was fortunate enough to captain the 1st team, demonstrating early signs of leadership skills.
Once he secured his degree, Morgan signed his first pro contract with Nottingham and spent a successful 3 years at the club, accumulating 63 appearances during his tenure. The whole coaching staff are delighted that to welcome Bunting this season, and we cannot wait to see him flourish in our system.
Hooker Ben Chapman is not your conventional, old-school front-rower; mobile and good with his feet, he impressed the Knights coaching staff before joining the club this season, which became his first professional rugby contract.
He started his rugby at just 4-years-old, starting at his home team, Crowborough RFC. He worked his way through the ranks there, and pursued his rugby while at school at Skinner’s School in Tunbridge Wells, becoming 1st XV Captain in his final year.
Chapman has been fortunate enough to be part of the England set-up on multiple occasions, for the U18s Counties squad in 2019. He was also a leading player in the Cardiff University 1st team, who had their highest BUCS Super Rugby finish with Chapman as vice-captain, and this season display earned him a spot in the England Students squad.
After his university studies, he joined Ampthill as a consistent starter in their 2023/24 campaign, before joining the Knights for the proceeding one. We look forward to watching Ben flourish in our system, and hope his experience and skills lead us to new heights.
Harry started his playing career at school, where he played in Silcoates’ first team, before being selected for the Leeds Tykes academy (formerly Leeds Carnegie) and earned himself a short stint in the first team, aided by his representation in some England U18 camps.
With some impressive displays in West Yorkshire, he was spotted by fellow Championship side, and transferred down to Penzance to play for Cornish Pirates. With the effects of the pandemic and an injury, Davey was brought back up to Yorkshire after 2 seasons at Mennaye Field, when he signed for Doncaster Knights before the 2021/22 season.
Since then, Harry has been an integral player for the Knights, establishing himself as a key and reliable player in the back three throughout his time at Castle Park. This campaign marks his fourth season here, and everyone is excited to see Harry’s career develop as he matures into an exciting player.
Australian-born Conor began his rugby career playing at semi-professional New South Wales club, Manly Marlins, in 2016, who play in the Shute Shield.
Davidson then was scouted out and had a season stint at Yorkshire Carnegie, where he played alongside Head Coach, Joe Ford, in his final year of professional rugby before becoming a coach. Conor then returned to Australia for another season at Manly.
Due to an injury crisis at the Knights, Conor was recruited in October 2021 to make the move to Castle Park. Since then, he has devoted all his time and effort into this club, becoming a real fan favourite. Despite injuries here and there during his tennure at Doncaster, Davidson came into his own last season, playing every single match of the Championship season.
Hooker Fred Davies is one of the new kids on the block, but he’s well-versed in playing rugby as shown by his impressive career, starting at Northampton Saints academy at the age of 17 for a two-year period.
Davies then spent a year at Cambridge RFC in 2017 before moving to Australia for a season with Shute Shield side, Eastern Suburbs District in Sydney to hone in on his skills.
At the age of 20, Fred decided to turn his focus to his academia at the established rugby university, Durham. Here, he accumulated many accolades with the Palatinates, captaining the side to a BUCS Super Rugby title win in the 2021/22 season, while also picking up the Player of the Year award. He is also the record try scorer for the league, scoring 39 in 53 apps. After the end of his university year, he was chosen to captain the England Students team in their fixtures.
After leaving university, he signed his first professional contract with Bristol Bears, making 15 appearances and scoring 4 tries. He carried on his captaining duties when he was chosen to lead the Bears out in the Premiership Cup against Exeter in September 2023.
His evident leadership and experience at such a young age will hopefully aid the Knights this season as they push for new heights.
Born and raised in Australia, Alex Dolly, who is an English Qualified Player through his grandfather, initially moved to the UK in 2017 to play cricket before getting the rugby-bug with Fylde. He then moved from the West coast and made the transfer to fellow South Yorkshire side, Rotherham Titans in 2018.
After a stellar season with the Titans, playing 29 matches and scoring 203 points, he moved up a league and joined Nottingham in 2019, however, the pandemic disrupted his time at The Archers, only playing 30 times in his two-year stint, but appearing in the Championship Clubs Podcast’s Team of the Season for 2020/21.
In 2021, Alex made the move to Castle Park and since then has never looked back. 69 caps and 12 tries later, Dolly is still a constant within this Knights squad and a true leader to everyone. Having developed key relationships with players and coaches alike, he is someone who everyone looks to in big moments.
Coming into his 4th season with the Knights, we are delighted to still have Dolly in the squad. Both his abilities on and off the field should be inspirational to the younger members of the squad making their way through the ranks.
Centre Connor Edwards is a proud Welshman and started his rugby playing career in the Welsh Valleys, in the town of Cwmbran. He played his junior rugby at Croesyceiliog RFC (pronounced, Croy-si-kale-i-og) and worked his way through their set-up.
At the age of 18 after finishing his schooling, he was selected to join URC side, Newport Dragons where he learnt his trade and developed his ruthless playing style. After stellar performances for the Dragons, he was called up to the Welsh U20s squad in 2017, which he claims to be one of his proudest moments in his career.
Making 19 appearances during his time at Rodney Parade, he spent a few loan spells at other Championship clubs, Jersey Reds and Hartpury. As he was coming to the end of his time at Newport, in March 2021, he was drafted into the Knights squad and has been a constant ever since, racking up over 50 appearances for Doncaster. As one of the longest reigning players in the team, Connor is a true leader within the team and we are delighted to have him for this upcoming campaign.
Scrum-half Oliver Fox joined Doncaster Knights from Championship rivals, Ealing Trailfinders. The Yorkshireman, from Dewsbury, grew up playing rugby league before joining the Yorkshire Carnegie rugby union academy at the age of 14. He would go on to make his Championship debut for the club during the 2016/17 season with the Leeds-based club.
Getting the call from Premiership outfit Bath ahead of the 2019/20 season, Ollie would go on to make 21 first-team appearances for the top-level side in 3 seasons at the Rec.
Alongisde this, Ollie’s career honours also include representing England at U19 and U20 level, featuring in both the U20s Six Nations and U20s World Cup
For the 2022/23 season he joined Ealing Trailfinders before spending the off-season and beginning of the 2023 summer in Australia, gaining valuable game-time for Randwick in the Shute Shield.
The young half-back then pledged his allegiance with the Knights last season and will commence his 2nd campaign at Castle Park, hoping to secure main hold of the No.9 shirt.
As the youngest member of our senior squad this season, Green has a good amount of pedigree behind him to back up the recruitment of someone so young as him.
Beginning his schooling at Dorset independent school, Sherborne, Green showed promise and exemplary leadership from an early age and carried this forward as he captained his 1st XV side in his final year of school.
While at school, he was recruited into the Bath academy at U18 level and subsequently joined England at this age group too. Upon leaving Sherborne, he was awarded with a contract with Bath and is part of the West Country’s senior academy.
Arthur is currently a student at Durham University, and opted for the move to Doncaster so he could maintain his competitive rugby while still focussing on his studies of Sociology. Since he joined the North-East university powerhouse, he has consistently represented the Palatinates’ 1st team, proving to be a key member.
Earlier this year, Arthur was part of the U20s World Cup squad who won the tournament. Being hit with an injury early in the tournament, he played a special part in the final, as he was one of the try scorers. We look forward to having him for the season, and hope he can learn even more as he improves his game.
