Lightning Tyson Lewis fires Doncaster Knights to promotion

Carlin Isles may be the world’s quickest rugby winger – but he is not as fast as Tyson Lewis when it comes to scoring tries.
Last week, it took Israel Folau only 38 seconds to score against the Bulls but the Wallaby sensation was still 31 seconds short of the fastest try ever which is the property of Doncaster Knights flyer Lewis.
Back in November at Old Albanians, Lewis touched down straight from the kick off as the hosts failed to collect the ball. The Knights clocked it at 8.13 seconds, which was already faster than Lee Blackett’s 8.28 seconds back in 2008, but Guinness Word Record timed it at 7.24 seconds and it was recently confirmed as the official fastest try in rugby history.
“Since I was a kid, coaches always tell you to chase hard at the kick-off but you rarely see the rewards,” Tyson told The Rugby Paper. “Even if you manage to get the ball back you tend to get tackled but not that day.
“I didn’t realise it could be a record at the time as I was just concentrating on the game.
“But a few weeks back against Wharfedale I scored and the announcer said ‘try from the World Record holder’.
“It doesn’t mean a lot really but it’s great to have that accolade next to my name. Now the coaches remind us of what happened at Old Albanians when they tell us to chase every kick and that we could be a world record holder if we do it right!”

Having been relegated from the Championship last season, Doncaster remained a full-time outfit with the ambition to spend only a year in National League One and, following their 38-20 win at Blackheath yesterday, they did just that.
Despite missing eight weeks with a shoulder injury, Lewis still managed to top the league scoring chart with 22 tries and he now hopes they can survive where they belong – in the second tier of English rugby.
“By making it clear from day one that we wanted to go straight back to the Championship we’ve been under pressure all season,” he added. “The sponsors believed in Clive Griffiths’ vision and they backed us up to remain full-time despite the drop so it’s great to repay the faith they had in us by winning promotion.
“We really wanted to bring the club back to where they belong, which is the Championship. Being part of the club’s demise last season we owed it to the fans, too.
“We know what it takes to play in the Championship so we’re under no illusion that it won’t be easy to stay up next year but we’re looking forward to it.
“Realistically, our goal has to be to stay up. As Ealing have shown this season, we’ll have to fight for make sure we secure every point we can. They all count at the end.”
NICK VERDIER