Electric Kyle Eastmond can put the frighteners on
Eastmond’s transition from League to Union has not all been plain-sailing since he moved from St Helens to Bath two years ago.
It has taken him time to find his best position, and only a few months ago the 24-year-old was disciplined by his club after walking out at half-time in the game against Sale.
But the England Saxon has this week been awarded a new two-year deal by Bath and remains a firm part of Stuart Lancaster‘s plans leading into the World Cup.
Vickerman said: “He is pretty much going to revolutionise the way 12s play Rugby Union in this country.
“When you talk to fellow centres they’re normally happy to have a 16st opponent built like barn door running at them because you know what they’re going to do. But with players like Kyle, and, in League, Sam Tomkins, there’s that unpredictability.
“Kyle can inspire and create and when you get someone like that playing for the opposition it can be frightening to defend against. That’s why Jason Robinson was so successful in Union.”
Ironically, Eastmond could find himself contesting the No.12 shirt at club and Test level with another cross-code convert, Sam Burgess, currently playing for South Sydney Rabbitohs in the NRL.
Giant ball-playing forward Burgess, 25, is being considered for a fast-track into the England team as a centre for RWC 2015 with Bath chasing his services at club level.
And Vickerman is aware of the lessons that can be learned from the other code. He said: “Looking at the bigger picture, there is a lot League can offer Union.
“It might not be specific individual players, more a style that can transcend the codes and change the way Union is played. The ball was in play for 38 minutes in the game between France and England, which is far higher than it normally is.
“If those figures start pushing upwards – maybe not the 75-minute mark you get in League, but into the 50s and 60s – then fitness levels will have to improve and the size of players will have to adapt. The influence of League in Union excites me.”
Vickerman, 28, grew up watching League in Hull and has played the majority of his professional rugby in 15s at dual-code club Leeds. He rejoined after calling time on his globe-trotting days on the Sevens circuit.
And he cannot speak highly enough of how League legend James Lowes has brought Carnegie and the Rhinos under one umbrella.
In the Neil Back/Andy Key era there were few links, Leeds’ League-led approach not going down well with the old school Leicester brigade.
“In my first spell at Leeds we were classed as one club but there was little interaction,” Vickerman said. “So it’s good to see those bridges are being built and one of the unique facets of Leeds Rugby is finally getting the acknowledgment it deserves.
“It doesn’t matter if it is Union, League or Sevens, if people have the ability to be winners in a code of rugby then you can learn from them, and that’s the case with us and the Rhinos.”
JON NEWCOMBE
