Lost boys taking second chance in Cardiff back row

Ben Donnell, Dan Thomas and Alun Lawrence have experienced the tougher side of professional sport

As the great American football coach Vince Lombardi extolled, it is not whether you get knocked down, it is whether you get back up.

They are words that sum up the current Cardiff back row who have taken their collective second chance - and the league - by storm.

Ben Donnell, Alun Lawrence and Dan Thomas have witnessed first hand the brutal side of professional sport.

They all impressed at age-grade levels, have excelled in the English leagues, yet have also found themselves on the rugby scrapheap through no fault of their own.

For Donnell and Lawrence, that was following the collapse of London Irish and Jersey Reds, respectively. For Thomas, the harsh reality of a club looking to youth.

But they have found opportunity at the Arms Park and in Matt Sherratt, a coach more than happy to offer a fresh start.

Sherratt admitted he was "amazed" Thomas, who turns 31 on Friday, was left looking for a club after being released by Bristol in June.

The Cardiff coach was also alert to pick up Donnell and Lawrence on short-term contracts last season before offering the pair new deals in the summer. And the trio are repaying that faith.

Back-row injuries have accelerated their progress with the likes of Taulupe Faletau, Thomas Young and Alex Mann missing.

But Thomas has carried on the traditions of the blue and black seven jersey, leading the United Rugby Championship (URC) for turnovers - seven - this season.

Number eight Lawrence had made more carries - 39 - than any other regional player, with Donnell just behind for successful carries.

Lawrence summed up the attitude of the Cardiff back-row trio.

"When you've come so close to losing your career and giving it all up, you definitely want to make the most of another chance," he said.

"That's the brutal side of professional sport, you never know what's around the corner. So you want to give it everything when you can."

Alun Lawrence has made more successful carries this season than any other Welsh forward

Lawrence is fuelled by the pain of what happened at Jersey, who went into administration just months after winning the Championship title in 2023.

"It's been a crazy last 18 months, a whirlwind. The Scarlets game (28 September) was exactly a year after Jersey went into liquidation," he said.

"That was a very difficult time and I know some very good friends who are wonderful players, like our captain Lewis Wynne, who have had to pack it all in.

"I look back on that time at Jersey with real fond memories but it's tarnished by how it all ended.

"For a couple of months after the club went under I really didn't even know if I was going to carry on playing rugby.

"I visited a couple of schools on the island with the thought of possibly moving into teaching or coaching and parting ways with playing.

"Luckily my family and my girlfriend convinced me that at 25, I still had a lot left in the tank. It would probably have been different had it been five years later.

"But I was definitely feeling like I had fallen out of love with rugby, until Cardiff offered me a chance to come back."