Christmas is all about families and that is definitely true of this Sunday's Guinness Premiership clash between Leeds Carnegie and Sale Sharks at Headingley Carnegie, kick off 3pm.
Leeds Carnegie's Erik Lund will be looking forward to taking on his younger brother England international Magnus Lund and there is a Viking invasion planned for the day. Erik, who was born in Norway before moving to England as a child, commented, "It is something that has been at the forefront of the family's mind ever since I signed for Leeds and the fixture list came out. I bought 17 tickets the other week and I am sure there will be a few more coming over on the day of the game. "There are six coming over from Oslo and there is a big group coming up from London for the game. My mum and dad, cousins and friends are all making sure that they don't miss this one. It is great that it is around Christmas because everyone is stopping for New Years Eve so it will make it a fantastic occasion, although Magnus has to train on New Years Day and we have got the day off so I suppose I have already got the last laugh!
"I played against Magnus once in a pre-season game when I was at Manchester and he was in the Sale Jets team but this will be the first competitive, serious game we have played against each other," remarked the Leeds second row.
Erik Lund missed Leeds Carnegie's loss to Bath last Saturday due to illness but he has been cleared to return this week.  Whilst Magnus has taken the well trodden route of young modern day professional rugby players, Erik's route to Sunday's game has taken a more winding road. "We have both supported each other throughout our careers. I used to watch Sale at home when they played on a Friday night and I was playing on Saturday afternoons and likewise Magnus would come to games the day after his match. However, there have been times when our parents have had to choose which one they go to see but come Sunday everyone knows where they need to be.
"I started playing at school but I had never heard of rugby until then because I was brought up in Norway. Magnus played most sports growing up and that included playing a bit of mini rugby along the way. Like me, he started playing properly at school but because I was that bit older than him, I never saw rugby as a career choice. Back then I thought it was a social activity that you could pick up a bit of cash on the side if you were good enough. However, Magnus played for Lancashire Under 16s and was spotted there and encouraged to pursue rugby as a career.
"I went off to university and did a degree in maths before studying for my masters in computer sciences. I stopped playing rugby for a couple of years but then got back into it playing at Fylde, Manchester and eventually Sedgley Park but again I didn't consider it as a full time occupation. It wasn't until I went to Rotherham last year and the approach was very much towards preparing to be full time professionals if we got promotion that it really became an option. I then got the chance to come to Leeds and I just want to make the most of my opportunity," added the 6'8" lock.
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