Kruise Leeming
Personal information
Born (1995-09-07) 7 September 1995
Lobamba, Eswatini
Height5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)[1]
Weight13 st 10 lb (87 kg)[1]
Playing information
PositionHooker
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2013–19 Huddersfield Giants 122 15 0 0 60
2016(loan) → Oldham 4 0 0 0 0
2020–23 Leeds Rhinos 65 18 0 2 74
2023 Gold Coast Titans 10 2 0 0 8
2024– Wigan Warriors 0 0 0 0 0
Total 201 35 0 2 142
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2018 England Knights 1 0 0 0 0
2021–22 Combined Nations All Stars 2 0 0 0 0
2021 England 1 0 0 0 0
Source: [2][3]
As of 3 September 2023

Kruise Leeming (born 7 September 1995) is a rugby league footballer who plays as a hooker for Wigan Warriors in the Betfred Super League.

He played the Huddersfield Giants in the Super League and on loan from Huddersfield in 2016 at Oldham in the Championship. At representative level, he has played for England, the Combined Nations All Stars, and England Knights.

Background

Leeming was born in Lobamba, Eswatini (then Swaziland), but raised in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England.

Kruise is a graduate of the Giants' academy system.[4] and was called up to the England Knights squad in 2019 along with 3 other Giants players.[5]

Club career

Huddersfield Giants

A product of Huddersfield's academy,[6] Leeming made his Super League début against Warrington Wolves in 2013, and scored with his first touch of the ball.[7] He went on to make one further appearances that year, and four appearances in 2014. Leeming established himself in the Huddersfield first-team in 2015, playing 15 times including an appearance from the bench in each of Huddersfield's Super 8s fixtures.

He has become a regular first team player since 2015 and was an integral part of the first team squad.

Leeds Rhinos

It was announced in early 2020 that Leeming would join Leeds.[8]

On 17 October 2020, he played in the 2020 Challenge Cup Final victory for Leeds over Salford at Wembley Stadium.[9]

In round 8 of the 2021 Super League season, Leeming scored two tries for Leeds in a 60-16 victory over Castleford.[10] In the 2021 Magic Weekend, Leeming scored a try and kicked a drop goal in Leeds 25-24 victory over Hull FC.[11] Leeming played a total of 23 games for Leeds in the 2021 Super League season including the club's 36-8 loss against St Helens in the semi-final.[12] In round 17 of the 2022 Betfred Super League season, Leeming scored two tries for Leeds in a 62-16 victory over Hull F.C.[13] On 24 September 2022, Leeming played for Leeds in their 24-12 loss to St Helens RFC in the 2022 Super League Grand Final. Leeming scored a try in the first half of the match.[14]

Gold Coast

In March 2023, Leeming requested an immediate release from his Leeds contract which was granted by the club. On 2 April 2023, it was confirmed that Leeming had signed a one-year deal with the Gold Coast.[15] Leeming became the first ever African-born man to play in the NRL.

Wigan Warriors

In July 2023, many clubs approached Leeming but following conversations with coach Matty Peet, Kruise signed a contract to join Super League side Wigan from 2024 on a four-year deal.[16][17]

International career

In July 2018 he was selected in the England Knights Performance squad.[18] Later that year he was selected for the Knights on their tour of Papua New Guinea. He played against Papua New Guinea at the Lae Football Stadium.[19]

Kruise was called up to the England Knights squad in 2019 and selected for the test against Jamaica at Headingley Rugby Stadium.[20]

In June 2021 he played for the Combined Nations All Stars in their 26-24 victory over England at Warrington, as part of England’s preparation for the ultimately postponed 2021 Rugby League World Cup.[21] A year later, Leeming featured again as the All-Stars were defeated 18-4 as part of England's preparations for the postponed tournament.[22]

References

  1. 1 2 "Huddersfield Giants - Rugby Super League".
  2. ↑ "Player Summary: Kruise Leeming". Rugby League Records. Rugby League Record Keepers Club. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
  3. ↑ RLP
  4. ↑ "Huddersfield Giants - Rugby Super League".
  5. ↑ https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/huddersfield-giants/huddersfield-giants-quartet-are-selected-for-england-knights-squad-1-9674104
  6. ↑ "Kruise Leeming and Jared Simpson to lead Huddersfield Giants' Academy charge at Widnes Vikings". 16 July 2015.
  7. ↑ Kruise Leeming makes big impact in Huddersfield Giants debut
  8. ↑ "Kruise Leeming: Leeds Rhinos hooker faces four more months out after knee surgery". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  9. ↑ "Leeds beat Salford 17-16 after Luke Gale lands late winning drop-goal". BBC Sport.
  10. ↑ "Castleford Tigers 6-60 Leeds Rhinos - 11-try visitors pull off stunning win". BBC Sport.
  11. ↑ "Leeming's first-ever drop-goal seals Leeds win". www.skysports.com.
  12. ↑ "Super League semi-final: St Helens beat Leeds to reach Grand Final - as it happened". www.bbc.co.uk.
  13. ↑ "Super League: Hull FC 16-62 Leeds Rhinos - Ash Handley scores five tries in rout". www.bbc.co.uk.
  14. ↑ "St Helens sink Leeds to win record fourth consecutive Grand Final". www.theguardian.com.
  15. ↑ "Gold Coast Titans confirm deal for Leeds Rhinos hooker". www.bbc.co.uk.
  16. ↑ "Kruise Leeming, Sam Waters & Tiaki Chan: Wigan Warriors sign trio for next season". BBC Sport. 26 June 2023. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  17. ↑ "2023 NRL Signings Tracker: Bulldogs snare Sexton; Schuster staying put". www.nrl.com.
  18. ↑ "Ten new additions in England Knights squad". loverugbyleague. 24 July 2018. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  19. ↑ "Papua New Guinea vs England Knights". WWOS. 27 October 2018. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  20. ↑ "England Knights vs Jamaica". WWOS. 20 October 2019. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  21. ↑ "England 18-4 Combined Nations All Stars: Shaun Wane's men secure three-try win". Sky Sports. 18 June 2021. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  22. ↑ "England Overcome All-Stars Test". Rugby Football League. 18 June 2022. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
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