sport news Leeds Rhinos captain Kruise Leeming dreaming of Super League glory trends now
Kruise Leeming counts himself lucky. 'My dad wanted to call me 'Anchor', so I'm glad he didn't,' laughs the Leeds Rhinos captain when explaining the origins of his first name.
'He worked as a casino croupier on a cruise ship with my mum. That's where they met and that's where I was conceived, so they wanted to name me something to do with the ship.'
Leeming was born back on dry land in Eswatini – formerly Swaziland – in Southern Africa, his mother Khabo's home country where he lived until he was three. He then moved with his family to Halifax, the hometown of his father Martin, but his new life in England soon took a tragic turn.
Leeds Rhinos captain Kruise Leeming is hoping to help guide them to their first Super League title since 2017
'When I was eight, my dad died of throat cancer at 40-years-old,' Leeming tells Sportsmail. 'We were best mates and it hit me really hard.'
Leeming, 27, never played rugby with his dad as a child, preferring golf. And it was actually while hitting a wedge shot that the course of his life would change for good.
'I used to practise my shots at the Siddal rugby field every couple of days, trying to hit the ball through the posts,' recalls Leeming.
'One day, the groundsman caught me and said, 'You can't be practising on this field, you are ripping up all of the turf'. I pleaded with him and eventually he said, 'I will do you a deal, you can practise on here as long as you come and train with us'.
'So on Saturday morning I went and trained and that was it. I loved it and never looked back.'
Just six years after his confrontation with an angry groundsman, Leeming made his Super League debut for Huddersfield Giants aged 17, scoring a try with his second touch.
Leeming joined the Rhinos at the end of 2019 and is just one step away from the Grand Final with rivals Wigan Warriors standing in their way
He joined Leeds Rhinos at the end of 2019, winning the Challenge Cup with them in 2020 and making his England debut the following year.
'My mum still doesn't know what is going on, she still thinks I play down at Siddal!' grins Leeming. 'Sometimes she says, 'Wow, what about all of those people that were there' and I'm like, 'Yeah, Mum, it is
