HALIFAX PANTHERS coach Kyle Eastmond is happy to link up with his old club St Helens via a dual-registration deal.
The 35-year-old former dual-code international back played for Saints between 2007 and 2011 before crossing to rugby union with Bath, Wasps and Leicester.
He took the Halifax reins in October – and says he knows any Saints players made available will have been well prepared.
“I have a really good relationship with Paul Wellens (the Saints coach) and Mike Rush (chief executive) from my early days in the game,” he explained.
“That’s given me a strong understanding on the standards of performance within the St Helens environment.
“That goes from the very top of the club down through all the levels, and includes the staff behind the scenes and the players.
“That aligns with what we’re trying to create and instil at Halifax, and we’re very much looking forward to working closely with each other and bringing value and benefit to both sides of the partnership.”
The deal replaces last year’s with Leeds, and Wellens said: “The Championship is a competition of high quality, and playing in that division will be a huge benefit to a lot of players within our squad.”
A snow-covered Shay surface led to the postponement of James Saltonstall’s testimonial against Warrington yesterday (Sunday, January 12).
Halifax head to Keighley for a pre-season match on Sunday.
