Leeds Tykes have announced their eleventh signing of the close season with the capture of London Irish scrum half Darren Edwards, 32, on a two year contract.
Darren joined London Irish in 2001 having previously played for Saracens, Bedford, London Welsh and Newport and made over 100 appearances for the Exiles. He also appeared for the Barbarians in 2003.
Commenting on signing for the Tykes Edwards said, "I am really looking forward to moving to the Tykes and the massive challenge we have in trying to get back in to the Premiership. Having spoken with Stuart Lancaster I know he has got together a hungry group of players who have ambitions not just for this season but for the years ahead to get back in to the top flight and returning Leeds to the Premiership. Stuart is a relatively young coach but he impressed me with a lot of his fresh ideas and I'm looking forward to working with a new coach who has a new approach to the game.
"I know from the success we have had with London Irish this year that if the players can buy into the philosophy of the coach then you can achieve a lot together. If you have a collective spirit to succeed that is the magic ingredient. From that you will get good performances, that will bring results and from there confidence follows and even when you don't perform to the highest level you can still get results.
"Having played in this division with London Welsh, I am under no illusions as to how tough it will be. I am looking forward to having an involvement at the club not just on the field but as one of the senior players hopefully I can help develop the great young talent at the club as well," added Edwards.
Director of Rugby Stuart Lancaster commented, "Darren has a huge amount of experience of both National Division One from his time with London Welsh and also the Premiership with London Irish. He fits the bill for us in what we were looking for in a scrum half, he is a team man, very positive and he wants to help develop the young players at the club also. He is keen to come to Leeds to get a chance to play regular rugby and we are keen to give him that opportunity. He is highly regarded by everyone I have spoken to about him not just as a player but as an individual and that is just what we are after."
So far the Tykes have signed Mike McDonald from Worcester, Tom McGee from Borders, James Parkes from Gloucester, Richard Bryan from Gwent Dragons, Martin Schusterman from Plymouth, Mark Lock from Wasps, Richard Welding from Cornish Pirates, John Holtby from Rotherham, Jonny Hepworth from Leinster and Andy Tuilagi from Leicester.
Leeds will begin their National Division One campaign against Edwards' former club London Welsh at Headingley Carnegie on Sunday 3rd September, kick off 2.30pm.