Doncaster Knights snap up former Bristol Bears and Ealing Trailfinders tighthead prop Lewis Thiede

The Doncaster-born tighthead prop was a teammate of head coach Steve Boden during his first spell at the club from 2008 to 2011.

The 32-year-old most recently played for last season’s RFU Championship winners, Ealing Trailfinders, having also represented Bristol Bears in the Gallagher Premiership.

Boden said: “We’re excited to have Lewis back at the Knights. He’s got a lot of experience – he’s gone off and been in some really top-class environments – so I think it’s great that he’s coming back to put something back into the club.

“It’s funny watching him now in his role as the experienced guy nurturing some of the younger players as, obviously, the roles were reversed all those years ago when he was the young guy coming through when I was still playing.

“He’s been fantastic since he’s come in. As a bloke, he’s been great in the environment – being a great teammate amongst the squad – and he’s worked very hard. We’re really pleased to have him back.”

Thiede left Doncaster for Wasps in 2011 before joining London Scottish and then Ealing, with whom he enjoyed two spells either side of his two years at Bristol from 2018 to 2020.

He said: “It feels like coming home.

“I always envisioned coming back, but it just turned out that everything aligned so well that it happened to come about now.

“I truly believe we’re going to have a successful season and that’s another reason I joined.”