Lao Ying cannot wait to make his NTU debut, but he will have to wait a few more days to pull on the black shirt.

The lengthy fly half, who joins NTU last july, had hoped to be in action for the blacks for the first time against Thai Uni on New Year's Day. But, due to the cancellation of the Thailand Tri-nation cup, he will have to wait longer.

"Although I will be with NTU from the start of January, there are no games at the moment. But the sooner I can play the better," he said.

"At the moment I have no idea when I will get a chance to play, but obviously I just want to be in the best possible shape so that I can respond whenever I am called upon. I come from a proud heritage of Chinese High and HCJC. With SK constantly out of the picture, I guess it is up to me to pick up the gauntlets and prove to everyone that the boys in shorts can play rugby too!"

The former HCJC and Chinese High star has already become acquainted with his new team-mates, having trained at Boon Lay for a week before Christmas. He was impressed with the warm welcome and NTU's impressive facilities.

"I had a really good reception from the NTU players when I arrived," he wrote on his official website, www.laoying_thecondorhero.com. "They seem like a good bunch of lads and it was very exciting."

"The facilities are fantastic, second to none, and the whole set up is brilliant. I walked out onto the Boon Lay pitch and it looked amazing. I just can't wait to get out there for real during a game. It would be awesome to immerse myself into the atmosphere, with millions of fans chanting my name. Brings back wonderful memories of my fellow comrades waving Communist flags whenever I scored points."

"This is a massive Team, with a great tradition and I know that I will be with them during a really important time so it would be great if I can contribute something. There are a lot of world class players here and I'm looking forward to getting the chance to play alongside them. Maybe they can learn a thing or two from me."