20 Questions: Tyson Lewis – Doncaster wing

Enjoyed the off-season?
It was nice to go away and unwind a little bit after such a long season. I stayed at a friend’s villa in Lanzarote which was brilliant. It was good to enjoy the local cuisine and just relax.
Did you cut off completely?
You still try to keep yourself in shape because there’s nothing worse than reporting back for pre-season unfit. I tried to stay away from rugby as much as I could but I also made sure I kept my body ticking over with some running and weights sessions.
Being a wing must mean high standards when it comes to fitness?
You can’t take your eye off the ball too much even if you try to relax. There’s a lot of running coming my way as an outside back!
How’s Clive Griffiths during pre-season?
The S&C coaches are more on our cases than Clive right now. He’s pretty relaxed until the rugby starts. That’s when he comes into his own.
How do you look back at that final against Bristol?
It’s a weird one because we were happy to get there but we didn’t turn up in the first leg at home and that’s the disappointing thing. We gave them a massive lead and it was too big of a task to overcome.
What a season though!
Three seasons ago we got relegated to National League One but Clive came on board and said that’s where we start rebuilding. People didn’t give us a hope but we knew what we were capable off and it shows last season.
Are you prepared to deal with your new status this year?
We’ll be on most team’s radar now and they’ll be looking out for us. The only problem for us is a better season will mean promotion so the bar has been raised. It’s a nice problem to have, though.
Will you be going out to prove people wrong again?
Despite what happened last season, there are still people out there expecting us to return to the bottom of the table this year. So it’s up to us to show that we can keep pushing on and give the likes of London Irish or Yorkshire Carnegie a run for their money.
Do you ever think about the journey you’ve been on since 2013?
We don’t tend to look back too much. Our ethos at the Knights is very much ‘on to the next one’ so we’re trying to keep our focus on the next job. It’ll be good to look back at it once I retire.
Any pre-season games coming up?
Our first game will be against Newcastle on August 13 and then Canada and Darlington. I’m sure it will come around really quickly and we’ve got to make sure we work as hard as we can now to be ready when it kicks off.
Areas to improve?
We got outmuscled at the breakdown at times so I’m sure we’ll work on that in pre-season. Our kicking game wasn’t where it needed to be at times, too.
What about your own season?
The start was tough with injuries and other people playing well but I got my opportunity three or four weeks in and I never looked back, scoring a few tries and really enjoying myself.
Where did it all start?
I picked up my first rugby ball at the end of college at Southend before moving to Blackheath and then Plymouth Albion before Donny.
Still hold the record for the quickest try in rugby?
Yes, it was against Old Albanians in November 2013. 7.24 seconds is the official Guinness World Record time.
Other career highlights?
I have to say winning promotion back to the Championship at the end of that season and the Championship final against Bristol rank pretty high in my career.
If not rugby, what would you be doing?
I studied law at university so I’d probably would have gone into that, or project management.
Favourite cheat meal?
I do like a Nandos if you can call it a cheat meal.
Three special dinner guests?
Colin Quigley our prop, Barack Obama and the Rock. Three polar opposites but it’d make for a great evening.
Best and worst banter in the squad?
Sam Edgerley would be up there but Quigs is definitely the worst.
Best and worst dressed?
Same two. Edgerley is a bit of a fashionista while Quigs is just awful.