Jeremy Guscott: Kyle Eastmond is central to Bath’s new look

No-one should get carried away with Bath's 45-0 win over Leicester because you would rather win a game like that in the last three weeks of the season than in your third game into it. However, as a statement of intent it was pretty impressive.
Leicester have been Bath's biggest adversary since I was a player, and along with the West Country derbies against Gloucester and Bristol it's the game everyone flocks to The Rec to see.
Last weekend's match will live long in the memory for both sets of supporters, and it was a trip down memory lane for me because I haven't heard a Bath crowd roar like that for 15 years. The Rec was at its best – buzzing and intimidating, a place where no opposition side wants to be.
The Tigers are right to feel apprehensive given that they were on the receiving end of a five-try beating.
Psychologically it was a huge win for Bath, and if they can sustain that form against the main contenders – and they nearly did so in a thrilling losing cause against Northampton yesterday – then there is no reason they can't win the Premiership.
It is a big step when you start to make statements on your own ground like Bath did, but the real test of any club's title ambitions is if they can win away against their biggest rivals. That's what Saracens and Northampton have done over the last two seasons. There was a time when the Saints could not beat Leicester or Saracens (home or away), and they now have the belief that they can do the job.
Bath have started to develop a side with genuine strike force in the backline with the likes of George Ford, Kyle
Eastmond, Jonathan Joseph, Semesa Rokoduguni and Anthony Watson, and also have Sam Burgess soon to arrive. The pack is now physically also very big, even with Matt Garvey and François Louw missing for the moment.
Of course, with almost 20 games to go until you get to the knock-out stage of the Premiership, there is plenty that can go wrong. For instance, you sense that if Ford gets injured it will be difficult for Bath to maintain their momentum. He is the linchpin, and while Gavin Henson is a useful back up at fly-half, he's not Ford – and therefore the dynamic in the backline would change.
That's why Bath need to handle Ford carefully, and be ready to adapt. He is not guaranteed to be away with England on every international weekend this season, mainly because he does not offer cover in too many positions other than fly-half. Conversely, Bath don't want Ford playing every minute of every game for the club. They have to make sure he is rested and therefore peaking at the end of the season.
Bath would also probably like to be stronger at scrum-half, even though Chris Cook is doing a good job under the tutelage of Peter Stringer. If Cook comes through, making good decisions and becoming a positive force, it will be a timely bonus because Bath need to be smarter.
They were too predictable at times last season, and their decision-making needs to improve so that they do not always do what the opposition expect. For instance, at home last season Bath had Saracens pinned on their own goal-line for six or seven minutes but failed to score points – and it led to a comfortable Sarries win with Ford, for once, having no answers.
The top-level game is all about psychological edge, and for Richard Cockerill to have to pick the bones out of a loss like that is new territory for Leicester – because they were demolished.
What impressed me most about Bath was the way they imposed themselves from the start, and hooker Rob Webber in particular has stepped up. He was impressive in the Amlin Cup final last season and carried that into the New Zealand tour for England. The scrummaging was huge against Leicester, and he was loving it. Regardless of the absence of Dan Cole and Marcos Ayerza, the Tigers do not have a poor scrum. Although the lineout was not as spectacular, Bath's set-piece was a decent platform – but it is what the backs did with it that made the difference.
I loved seeing the accurate, imaginative and skilful back play with which Bath attacked Leicester, Ford starting it by gliding through with a show-and go.
Then there was Eastmond – and let's hope the knock he received yesterday does not prove serious. Show me another centre in England who can put in a pass like that flat, non-spin delivery which put Jonathan Joseph clear for his first try. Eastmond's pass was of such quality that Joseph should really have seen it and known he was going to score as soon as he ran onto it.
Instead, although he ran hard, it took Joseph four strides before he realised he was going to score. It was a brilliant pass – the sort that will win you games. Ford was named man of the match, but Eastmond was out on his own in my book.
He has a superb skillset, especially when it comes to putting other players into space. It is sometimes hard for his team-mates to read him because they don't see what he sees as quickly. He is an instinctive natural runner and passer.
Eastmond is a play-maker, and 12 is his natural position because the more damage he does close to the breakdown the more he stops the defence in its tracks and makes space for the quick men outside.
By reading a player you put yourself in position to call for the ball because you've anticipated what he's going to do. It's a big moment when the carrier hears that call. If he passes and it's the right call the trust the carrier will have in the receiver who called will be invaluable.
Building trust forms the bedrock of most relationships, and if you find that connection throughout your backline then trust me, those combinations will be remembered for a lifetime.
The telepathy is growing between Ford and Eastmond, and if it goes out one more to the outside-centre (Joseph) it becomes pretty unstoppable. Then the 11, 14 and 15 will all be cooking on gas.
Suddenly, Bath have broken through the Premiership's glass ceiling, but, so far, only the head is through. Start beating the big boys away this season and they will smash through it completely. I expect at least a top-four finish from them this season.
*This article was first published in The Rugby Paper on September 28.