Archie Smeaton

At just the age of 23, Archie Smeaton has had a very successful playing career. Born in the East Riding village of Cottingham, he played his youth rugby for Hull Ionians and school rugby at Hymers College, where he developed his game and established himself as somewhat of a brick wall.

Smeaton then moved on to focus on his studies and incredibly got into Cambridge University, studying Natural Sciences, and continued his rugby there, donning their iconic Cambridge blue and white, and even played in the famous Varsity Match against Oxford, at Twickenham.

On two occasions, Archie was called up internationally at U18 level, representing both England and Scotland. However, after developing his game at Cambridge, he decided to stick to his Scottish routes, and eventually got selected for their U20 squad in 2021 for the Six Nations.

After assigning himself to the Scottish side, he was brought into the Glasgow Warriors academy, and later signed a professional contract with them in 2022 upon completing his university studies. After only a brief stint there, he returned to Yorkshire and had his first season with Doncaster last year, where he made an incredible impact and was voted Supporters’ Player of the Season.

Everyone both at the Knights and in the fanbase are delighted to have Archie for another season, and we all hope his tenure at Castle Park is a lengthy one. 

Thom Smith

Thom began his rugby career at the young age of 9, playing for Bury St. Edmunds minis and juniors, and worked his way through the age groups.

He then secured his first professional contract at the young age of 18 in 2018 for Leicester Tigers, securing his Premiership and European debuts in the same season. At the start of the 2019/20 season, Smith went on a short loan stint at Yorkshire Carnegie for the first half of the season, before returning to Welford Road.

While at the Tigers, Smith became their youngest Premiership captain, and holds that record to this day. In December 2021, he left Leicester and joined the Knights, making a great impression on the squad and the fans, as he was issued co-captaincy the following season. 

For the 2023/24 season, Thom joined Jersey Reds, however this stint was short lived due to their unfortunate financial issues. He took the rest of the season to work on his rugby and improve his game, and is back at Castle Park with a vengeance to push the boys to new heights this season. Everyone at the Knights is delighted to welcome Thom back for this upcoming season.

Rhys Tait

Born in the small town of Hawick in the Scottish Borders, Rhys started his rugby career with Hawick minis along with his education at Hawick High School where he developed his skills.

He then moved on a scholarship to prestigious rugby school, Sedbergh, where he continued to develop his game, and was rewarded with international caps at his age group.

Tait represented Scotland at Under 16 and Under 18 level, before having the honour of captaining the Under 20 team at the 2021 Six Nations.

Thanks to his performances in the U20s Six Nations, Rhys signed his first professional contract with Glasgow Warriors and worked his way through the academy. Up against the likes of Jack Dempsey, Matt Fagerson and Rory Darge, Rhys came to Doncaster on loan towards the back end of the 2022/23 season, before signing a full-time contract with the Knights last season.

We are fortunate enough to have Rhys again for the 2024/25 campaign, who is such a dedicated and experienced player, and he will certainly find himself as a regular starter this season.

Lewis Thiede

Doncaster-born, Lewis Thiede, began his junior rugby at Doncaster mini junior U7s and worked his way through the ranks, before being promoted to the Knights academy in May 2008. Developing good skills here, he signed for ex-Premiership club Wasps RFC in 2011, experiencing true professionalism in the sport.

At the end of the 2012/13 season, Lewis remained in London and joined fellow Championship club, London Scottish. Just the one season spent with the blues, he headed back to South Yorkshire, and joined Rotherham Titans who were also playing in the Championship at the time. Two seasons there, and another move was on the cards to newly promoted Ealing Trailfinders, Thiede really came into his own in West London, and even helped the team win the British and Irish Cup in his final season in 2017/18.

Lewis earned himself a bumper deal, signing for newly promoted Bristol Bears at the age of 28, and had an exciting two seasons at the West Country club, and even won the European Challenge Cup with the Bears in his final season.

Lewis returned to Ealing in 2020 in order to be closer to his partners family in London, and stayed with the club for three more season, playing just under 100 times for the Trailfinders. In the 2021/22 season, Lewis had an incredibly successful season, helping his side win the Championship title and cup, and individually, he was named in the Championship Team of the Season.

Lewis returned to the Knights for the 2023/24 season, donning the Oxford Blue for the first time in 12 years, he also reached his 50th cap for the Knights last season and hopes to boost his numbers and aid the team in showing them what it takes to win the Championship.

Andrew Turner

Andrew Turner is one of our loan players for this season, coming from Premiership side Bristol Bears, where he began in the academy aged just 15 before signing his first professional contract with the club in 2020.

Turner’s love for rugby started from a young age when he started playing at Weston-super-Mare RFC at the age of 13, standing out from the crowd as a determined and powerful player from the offset.

Andrew featured in the 2022 U20s Six Nations with England where he made 3 appearances for his country. Putting in some impressive displays, he was called to the other side of the world to join New Zealand club Crusaders on loan in the 2022/23 season after they experienced an injury crisis.

Having such experience at the age of 22 should help the Knights this season, but this loan stint should also improve Turner’s game with the experience of the other props in the squad.

George Roberts

Born in Wrexham, North Wales, George Roberts is considered somewhat of a veteran within the Doncaster Knights first team squad, as the 2024/25 season will be his fifth at Castle Park, culminating 67 caps during his tenure.

Roberts started his career for his birthplace rugby club, Wrexham RFC, where he played at junior level. He also made multiple appearances for the senior squad, before joining RGC 1404’s academy in 2016. He then signed his first club contract with the Colwyn Bay side and spent a successful season with them in 2019/20 in the Super Rygbi Cyrmu league.

After the COVID break, George was back playing rugby and was snapped up by Doncaster Knights in 2021 and made his debut for the club in March 2021 against Ampthill, and since then has been a constant within the squad, and we look forward to help George improve his game even more.

Semesa Rokoduguni

Born in Nausori, Fiji, Semesa “Roko” Rokoduguni has always been a rugby enthusiast. He began his career in the Army, playing rugby at an amateur level before representing the Army’s rugby team on multiple occasions.

In 2012, at the age of 25, Roko signed a professional contract with Bath Rugby and stayed with the Premiership club for an amazing 10 seasons, playing 194 times for the club and scoring 71 tries. In 2022, he then moved to French D2 side, US Montauban, to ease into the end of his playing career.

While balancing his rugby with a career in the Army, Roko holds the rank of Lance Corporal and also served in Afghanistan. To top off an exciting life, Semesa also represented England on four occasions, scoring four times, with his debut being against the All Blacks in the 2014 Autumn Internationals.

We welcome Roko to Castle Park with open arms, as he comes to the end of his rugby career, and hope he has a successful and impactful season.

Telusa Veainu

Born in Kawakawa, New Zealand, Veainu completed his education at St. Andrew’s College in Christchurch where he was made 1st XV captain in his final year. 

During his schooling, he worked his way through the age groups of Canterbury RFC’s squads, before being rewarded with an appearance in the New Zealand U20s World Cup in 2010, where he scored 5 tries, including a hat-trick in the final. Telusa got his call up to the Canterbury first team squad and went on to make 34 appearances and scoring 21 tries.

In 2012, he left his boyhood club and bounced around the league, representing Highlanders, Hawke’s Bay and Crusaders, contributing positively wherever he went. Veainu then hopped over the Tasman Sea to play for Melbourne Rising (then Rebels), where he almost managed to score as many tries as games.

In 2015, he relocated to England and joined Leicester Tigers, where he really began to make a name for himself and stunned the Premiership crowds. Playing for the Midlands side 80 times and scoring a brilliant 32 tries, he became a fan favourite during his 5-year tenure, and even helped the squad lift the Anglo-Welsh Cup in the 2016/17 season.

Internationally, Telusa switched his professional playing nationality to Tongan, as he was selected for the 2015 Rugby World Cup. Since then he has played 12 times for the ‘Sea Eagles’ scoring 8 times, and was even selected in the 2019 World Cup Squad, in which he was Tonga’s top try-scorer.

Ahead of the 2020/21 season, Telusa hopped across the Channel this time and joined Stade Français. He remained a consistent and dependent player for the French side, and managed to reach double figure tries, scoring 10 during his 3 years in the capital.

Most recently, he joined Knights having spent last season with Sale Sharks, but never managed to consistently find a spot, but we hope this year we can assure Telusa more game time, and he can pass on his wisdom and wicked step to our other players.

Josh Williams

Born in Teesside, Josh is an experienced rugby player considering his age, accumulating accolades such as Under 18 and Under 20 England appearances. Josh developed his love for rugby while at Hartpury College, before signing his first professional contract with his local Premiership club, Newcastle Falcons.

Williams then put his rugby on the back-burner and moved into a career with the Royal Marines, but has represented the Royal Navy’s rugby team on numerous occasions.

In 2021, Josh Williams was ready to resume his professional rugby career, and joined Cornish Pirates, however, his season was cut very short due to a long-term injury but came back better than ever in the 2022/23 campaign.

Last season, Josh only played four times as he continued to balance his career as an active serving member of His Majesty’s Royal Marine Commandos, but is ready and raring to go for the upcoming campaign with the Knights, and help us spearhead to new heights as a club.