1 November 2005
New Leeds Tykes signing Kees Lensing, 27, is ready to test himself against the best that Northern Hemisphere rugby has to offer after turning his back on Super 12 rugby.

Loose head prop Lensing, who measures 6'3" and 20 stone, arrived in England to begin a three year contract with the Tykes last weekend and, having trained with his new team mates for the first time on Tuesday, is set to play some part in this weekend's GUINNESS PREMIERSHIP clash against Sale at Headingley, kick off 2.45pm.

Lensing played for his home country of Namibia in the 2003 World Cup which means he could never play for South Africa however the challenge of testing himself in the GUINNESS PREMIERSHIP and Heineken Cup is one that excites him.

"I have played with a lot of Springboks. Eighty per cent of our pack were in the South African team, the likes of Victor Matfield and Bakkies Botha. Working with people like that is only going to see your game go from strength to strength. I've played a lot and picked up a vast amount of experience in the last two seasons of my career. Now I want to take it forward further now with Leeds Tykes."

"I have played against the best players in South Africa, New Zealand and Australia and by joining Leeds I have the chance to test myself against some of the best props in the world who are playing in the Northern Hemisphere," added Lensing.

Lensing signed for the Tykes in the summer, only moving to Headingley at the completion of his commitments in South Africa. Since signing he has seen Leeds get off to a poor start to the season but the giant prop has first hand experience of how confidence can turn a team's season around, he continued, "We lost the first four games of Super 12 with the Bulls this year - and then went on a winning run to reach the semis. We just changed our mindset, looked deep into ourselves and realised it was only us who could do it. The win last week against Calvisano will have been a good boost for the lads and hopefully we can build on that performance this week against Sale."

Tykes Director of Rugby commented, "Kees is a player I have watched for a number of years and it will be good to get him out there in a Tykes shirt at long last. He is a tough, no nonsense player who will give us a lot of momentum. Having said that, he has only just arrived in the country and it is to be expected that he will take time to adapt to his new life. He has trained with the lads for the first time this morning and looked sharp and we will see how he goes this week in training before deciding on his contribution for Saturday."