Out On The Full Meets Kyle Eastmond

Bath Rugby are on a twelve match winning run at home, they haven’t lost in the Aviva Premiership since December 2013 and have secured the services of one of the most exciting Rugby League players ever; Sam Burgess... that is certainly quite a list of achievements to accumulate in just a few months. This week I caught up with Kyle Eastmond to find out a little more about life down in the West Country and look ahead to the rest of the season.

With such a winning record I was intrigued to find out just how the players were feeling right now;

“Confidence is high at the moment, the lads have been putting in some good performances but we are definitely not feeling complacent at all. It's an exciting time to be part of Bath Rugby, as a squad we are working really hard, every single day to try to improve our game, to try to become better players and overall become a better team.”

Given the fact that they finished 7th last year I wanted to understand what the driving factors were behind such an empathic 2013/14 season so far, and asked Kyle if he could pinpoint a few for me. True to form like all loyal players Kyle didn’t give away any trade secrets;

“There isn’t one person in particular or one different factor that you can account this season to, the squad has been building together and we are simply working extremely hard to constantly develop and improve.”

This Friday Night Kyle and his teammates face a huge test hosting Saracens at home; their opponents are 9 points ahead of them in the table and looking ahead to the fixture my question to Kyle was simple; “Where or how do you exploit Saracens?” The answer;

"Well we are going to try to exploit them across the board really.... they are a great team, they have strengths all over the pitch and we need to target them everywhere. We really need to be on our game from 1 to 15 in order to get the result on Friday Night.”

You sense that with Bath’s current form their playoff position is already secured and I wondered if their thoughts were focused a little higher, so I asked whether second position in the table was now the goal for them;   

“Absolutely not, we never ever look beyond the next game; we are fully focused on trying to do well in the next fixture and get a win, nothing else comes into it.”

As we all know Kyle has successfully made the transition from Rugby League and I certainly couldn’t let him go without asking his thoughts on their sublime new signing;  

“I’ve known Sam for a while, since he was a young lad, and it is really exciting to have him as part of the squad. Obviously making the transition is difficult, there is a lot to learn but Sam’s attitude is outstanding and I’ve no doubt that he will do extremely well here at Bath.”

It was clear from speaking to Kyle that it is a fantastic time to be part of Bath Rugby, confidence is high and everything is going pretty well right now. However the loudest message that I heard was that fact that they are not satisfied and that they still believe that they have an awful lot of work to do. Friday night’s match against Saracens is a huge test for this team, it will test how far they have progressed and really define the rest of their season. There is no doubt that the squad are more than ready for it and underneath the beautiful Friday Night Lights of The Rec it will be a brutal encounter as these two Premiership giants battle it out for ultimate supremacy. 

It's Getting Hot In Here - Aviva Premiership Round 16 Preview

Welcome to the Round 16 Preview, yes I did just say Round 16, it seems like yesterday that we were discussing Round 1 and now there are only 7 short rounds (including this one) left before the knock out stages, can you believe it!? We really are immersed in the business end of the season; every single point counts and in Round 16 we have some outrageously good clashes so let’s get straight to it and preview all of the weekend’s action;

It is a warm welcome back to the Friday Night Lights... as you all know I love a Friday night game and in Round 16 we have a real treat on our hands as Bath host Saracens at The Rec. This is set to be a brutal encounter between two of the top performing teams of this year’s Aviva Premiership so far. This week Mike Ford said that Saracens were “two or three years ahead” of his team in terms of their development and whilst this may be the case you do get the feeling that underneath their own Friday Night Lights Bath could pull out something very special. The home team are likely to welcome back George Ford from England duty and will look towards their electric backs to deliver them with points galore. Saracens, well they have their back line firepower too and their notorious Wolfpack will be chomping at the bit to get their teeth into their hosts. All in all it really will be something special down at The Rec on Friday night and if you don’t have a ticket don’t worry because it is one of the weekend’s televised fixtures and that means that you can enjoy it from the comfort of your own home or indeed the pub! Happy Days!! 

On Saturday the first stop on the Round 16 journey is Sandy Park where the Exeter Chiefs are aiming to delight their fans and turn around their difficult run. Since the Chiefs' loss of form Rob Baxter has been honest and to the point in his assessments and this week he has described the match as a 'must win' game. It is clear from Round 15 that things are starting to move in the right direction for the Chiefs however they still need to find that little bit more to close out a match. Turning the spotlight onto their opponents London Irish expect to see a visible reaction to their frustrating day on Saturday where they gifted Tigers too many points and didn't secure all of their own opportunities. On an individual note watch out for Marland Yarde and Tom Johnson two big players who will want to impress Stuart Lancaster and remind him of their personal credentials. 

At The Stoop on Saturday Harlequins will host the Worcester Warriors and attempt to break a couple of world records at the same time. I’ll leave the Quins media team to explain the records (here) and instead focus on the match. As mentioned in the Round 15 Review Harlequins are a little off colour at the moment without their Internationals and like the Chiefs they need to pull their socks up a bit. In saying that, their home form of late has been strong and their young players are shining, in particular young Ollie Lindsay-Hague who is deputising well for England’s man of the moment Mike Brown. For Worcester it really is do or die time, with Newcastle gaining a losing bonus point last weekend they are now 12 points adrift at the bottom and that is a slight cause for concern. Dean Ryan has asked his men to 'fight like mad' and 'perform emotionally' this weekend against Quins and for what it is worth I genuinely hope that they can pull something special out of the bag.

At Adams Park there is a tasty middle of the table clash between the London Wasps and the Sale Sharks. Sale have a strong record against the London side and given that their last two away fixtures ended both with 4 points confidence will be high going into this match. The home team will be much happier with their performance in Round 15 but certainly need to reign in their discipline in order to not give away needless penalties that could be costly with Danny Cipriani's boot on the pitch. I fully expect that the tussle between Elliot Daly and Rob Miller will be Kearney/Brown esque and of course watch out for the clash of the titans between two mighty back rows.

In the final Saturday fixture the Northampton Saints take on Nigel Davies’ Gloucester, the only side to have beaten them this season. The Saints were made to work hard last weekend up North and will be pleased to be returning back into the comforting arms of Franklin’s Gardens where they are unbeaten since last March. Their Cherry and White opponents are starting to find their confidence; their stronger set piece has certainly helped them as it has provided them with a real platform for their backs to work off. The question is do they have enough confidence to back up their Round 3 win and topple the mighty Saints twice!? Answers on a Tweet please!! 

The final game of the weekend is up at Kingston Park where the Newcastle Falcons welcome the Leicester Tigers to town. Newcastle haven’t beaten their opponents in the Premiership since 2009 and are without a league win since Round 6 however their performances of late have been full of heart and determination. The Tigers have shown an equal amount of heart to deliver 3 ugly wins in a row and will certainly be aiming to deliver a much prettier one this weekend. Expect Owen Williams to start again at 10 after an assured performance last weekend and naturally all eyes will be on the return of Manu Tuilagi who will run out for the first time this year after his lengthy spell on the side-lines. 

All in all Round 16 is set to be a mighty fine round of Premiership Rugby, there are tasty little head to heads all over the country and fixtures that make your heart race that little bit faster at the thought of them. Thankfully there isn’t too long to wait before the action starts... in fact there is just enough time make sure that you have your tickets ready or your TV of choice sorted so that you can enjoy as much of the Aviva Premiership action as physically possible!!

The View From Twickenham - England versus Ireland

Saturday 22nd February was an outstanding day for English rugby; in fact I’d go so far to as to say that it was a monumental day. In front of 81,555 at Twickenham and millions more watching on TV Stuart Lancaster’s England team came of age as they beat one of the best teams in the world.

A number of times Stuart Lancaster’s squad have been guilty of being the ‘nearly men’… nearly beating New Zealand… nearly beating France… but yesterday they ripped off that tag in emphatic fashion. Character, heart and determination were qualities shown in absolute spades and Andy Farrell couldn’t have hit the nail on the head better when he said that his team showed ‘massive balls’ to overcome the Irish.

It was a test match of epic proportions, the intensity was greater than anything that we have seen this year in the RBS 6 Nations and the quality of rugby shown out there on the pitch from both teams was world class. Ireland threw everything that they had at England and England threw it all back with just enough interest to win the game.



Looking at the match itself as many have already said it was the most enthralling 3 - 0 first half that we have seen in a very long time. Pitchside you sensed that half time arrived just at the right time for both teams in order to rehydrate, regroup and hear a few choice words from their respective coaches. We all know that the first score after half time is critical and sadly for England it went to Ireland and there was an immediate, and huge momentum shift against them. In previous matches England have struggled at this point however yesterday they rallied and showed a huge amount of inner confidence to turn the game around. This is what pleased Stuart Lancaster the most and this is why I am saying that it was a monumental day for England Rugby.  

It would be remiss of me not to mention certain individuals, from an English perspective, that were instrumental to yesterday’s win. The brilliance of Danny Care and Mike Brown clearly manifested itself on the scoreboard but it was the tireless work of a few others that should also be noted and praised. David Wilson, who I'd heard called the 'poor man's Dan Cole' last week, played out of his skin for 69 minutes before Henry Thomas came on and was equally influential at scrum time. Billy Twelvetrees was one of England's leading tacklers with 13 to his name and Joe Launchbury was simply world class deservedly earning his description by many as the ‘forward of the match’.

Am I being too optimistic? Am I praising England too highly? I have to say that I don’t think that I am… I defy you to replay that match, as a fan of England Rugby, and not feel the same way. Stuart Lancaster rightly pointed out that this win will count for nothing if his team cannot build on it and of course he is right. However in the cold light of day that fact remains that yesterday’s performance was a huge step in the right direction and if England replicate or dare I say it, build on it against Wales in two weeks’ time it will be one hell of a battle and certainly a very, very different one to that fateful day last year at the Millennium Stadium.   





Aviva Premiership Round 15 Review

This weekend was a weekend made in rugby heaven as we enjoyed 240 minutes of exquisite RBS 6 Nations rugby and 480 minutes of top notch Aviva Premiership rugby. In the domestic competition some teams felt the impact of missing their esteemed internationals whilst others flourished without them, the weather held off and tries were the result… so let’s have a look at all of the weekend’s action;

As predicted it was a thriller at The Rec and we were treated to 55 points courtesy of 7 tries, 5 conversions and 4 penalties. It was the first game in a long time that Bath had to run out without their precocious talent George Ford however it didn't matter as the home team recorded a bonus point victory regardless. Kyle Eastmond had another great shift and Nick Abendanon showed that he isn’t leaving the UK without a strong last hoorah! Wasps will be disappointed with the loss however they certainly delivered a much more confident and assured performance than in Round 14. Next weekend they head home to host Sale whilst Bath turn on their Friday Night Lights.  

Kingsholm hasn’t been a happy place this season with more home defeats than any player or coach would care to admit to however on Saturday afternoon the smiles were back. Gloucester’s win was a fitting goodbye for their legend Andy Hazell who led the team out and was honoured at half time and equally for Captain Mike Tindall who celebrated his 200th Premiership appearance. Performance wise it wasn’t pristine but the confidence it will give the players is important as in Round 16 they head to fortress Franklin’s Gardens to take on the Northampton Saints. For Harlequins the loss won’t be wholly unexpected as they have been looking a little off colour without their international talents over the past few weeks. However there is no time to wallow in self pity as Conor O’Shea's men are hosting Worcester next weekend and certainly will not want to become the first team that the Warriors beat this year.

At Sixways it was the visitors who took the spoils, as once against the Warriors came out on the wrong side of the score sheet. Sale were quickest off the blocks, led by their own Mr 200 Mark Cueto who scored an early try to mark his own Premiership milestone. Worcester fought back and they fought hard throughout however their false start cost them dearly. Both teams head down to the Big Smoke in Round 16 as mentioned Worcester will run out at The Stoop whilst Sale are off to Adams Park.  

The Madjeski witnessed an emotional encounter as the Leicester Tigers came to town. London Irish’s recent run of form has been superb however they faltered slightly and let the Tigers race ahead. James O’Connor had a rare off day and left points begging however on a brighter note Marland Yarde came off the bench and looked as if he had never been away. Irish pressured right until the final minute however once again the Tigers did what they always do at the moment and won ugly.

Rob Baxter had asked for a reaction from his players and he certainly got one in the first 10 minutes of the match however sadly for the Chiefs it didn't last for the full 80. Saracens weathered the early storm, re-grouped and worked hard to get themselves back into the game by half time. In the second it was the home team who had much of the possession and worked hard to gain the victory. The Chiefs looked more frustrated than ever and once again they need to dig deep before they return home to Sandy Park next weekend. Saracens continue to pressure the Saints at the top of the table and face a huge test underneath the Friday Night Lights of The Rec.  

In the final match of the weekend the Northampton Saints started emphatically at Kingston Park as they scored 3 tries in the first half; notably two of them were from young James Wilson who has certainly made the 15 shirt his own since Ben Foden has been out injured. However the Falcons weren’t just going to lie down and hand the visitors the victory and for much of the second it was all about the home team. The Falcons battled hard and were rewarded with a try from speedster Noah Cato, the conversion was hugely significant as it secured them a vital losing bonus point. We all know that in the Aviva Premiership points mean prizes and that could be a particularly important one for them in the context of relegation/survival.

The Aviva Premiership continues to excite and delight us all... after Round 15 the table is slightly more clear cut however there is still everything to play for. It has been quite a colossal weekend of rugby so I suggest that you take a few days to rest and recuperate because it begins all over again on Friday night when Round 16 steamrollers its way into town!!

"A Formidable Challenge" - England versus Ireland

On Saturday Twickenham Stadium will emerge from its 98 day International hibernation and host one of the greatest contests that this 2014 6 Nations will see as England and Ireland go head to head for the 128th time. Given the context of the championship and the level of talent housed within the two squads expect nothing less than an almighty humdinger of a rugby test match.  The question on everyone’s lips is who will win!? Well for once I’m not going to launch into an clear cut prediction because this time around I actually believe that it is very, very difficult to call. One moment I’m with England and their home advantage and steadily building game and then the next I’m with Ireland… remembering the way in which they clinically brushed aside the heftiest of opponents in Round 2 and made it look very easy! 

Why are you so indecisive I hear you ask… surely as a writer you should always have a strong opinion and on top of that as an England fan your answer should be simple… an England win and that’s that! Well as much as I’d like to sit and type that in a carefree fashion I genuinely think that it would be foolish of me to do so. Stuart Lancaster has described the game as ‘a formidable challenge’ and he is absolutely spot on with that assessment. The challenge for his men became even more formidable when it was announced that Dan Cole would not be able to play any part in the match.  Dan’s injury is a huge blow to the squad, England’s reliance on him has been hefty so far this year and now it is time for others to take to the helm. Let’s not forget that last year’s result was greatly assisted by penalties awarded at scrum time and whilst Henry Thomas and David Wilson are strong players fronting up against Cian Healy is a huge, huge challenge and my goodness me do I hope that they do it well.

There is one member of the Irish team that all eyes will be on come 4pm on Saturday afternoon… I am of course talking about Mr Brian O’Driscoll who will be achieving his 139th International Cap. It will be his 13th and final game against England and whilst Joe Schmidt is keen to move the spotlight away from just one individual, you know that the fact that it is BOD’s last hoorah at HQ will add a huge amount of spark to the whole team. Luther Burrell has already said that it will be a ‘huge honour’ to run out against him however don’t be fooled by the niceties… an honour it may be but Luther has also said as soon as soon as it is game time they ‘will become enemies’ meaning that he tackle with just as much ferocity as always should the legend happen run into his channel.

BOD is an integral part of one of the most experienced back lines in world rugby… Conor Murray, Jonny Sexton and Gordon D’Arcy add their own talents to it. However Ireland's firepower comes from all over the park... in fact I don't need to do anything more than write a couple of names for you to know exactly what I mean by that; Paul O’Connell, Cian Healy, Rory Best, Peter O’Mahony, the Kearney brothers...and more.... needless to say you get the idea!!

However let’s not forget that England have their own weapons… yes many are much less experienced than their Irish counterparts but they still have the ability to deliver outstanding performances that can win their team matches. One thing is for certain and that is that every single England player will take their game to a different level this weekend, beyond anything that we have seen so far in the RBS 6 Nations. Brown and Care will be at their electric bests, Joe Launchbury, Chris Robshaw and Tom Wood will work themselves into the ground and Billy Vunipola will look to crash through that gain line time and time again. An added bit of excitement is the fact that this weekend England have comprehensive cover and indeed a strong second half option at 10 with George Ford. 

As previously mentioned I’m not going to provide a definitive match prediction, instead I am simply going to finish by stating again how close I believe it will be. I am hugely honoured to be able to say that I will be in the press box at Twickenham this weekend to witness, in full, what will undoubtedly be one of the most memorable test matches that this great stadium has ever seen.