Kyran Bracken

Back in 2007 Kyran Bracken, the England and Saracens rugby player, was wondering what he was going to do with himself as retirement beckoned. He’d enjoyed a spectacular career, winning the World Cup with England, captaining his country, being awarded an MBE for his services to sport, and winning 51 international caps, as well as playing for the British & Irish Lions in 1997. But he had no plans for the immediate future.

Then the phone rang and a voice asked him if would be interested in competing in ITV’s “Dancing on Ice” show. The rest, as they say, is history. Bracken went on to win the show – against all odds – and now spends much of his time skating in front of audiences who flock to see his very own “Kyran Bracken’s Ice Party,” which features many of the celebrities who have appeared on the ITV programme.
Even now Bracken shakes his head at the improbability of his story. “I hadn’t been skating since aged seven and couldn’t even stand on the ice at the beginning,” he recalls. “Jayne Torvill said I’d be out of the show within two weeks but nobody had taken into account my competitive nature, or the fact that although I wasn’t a performer like the actors and actresses, singers and news readers who were on the show, I possessed the physical balance of a sportsman. I saw it as a challenge, just like so many rugby games, and my many years experience as a rugby player meant that my body and mind could adapt to a new set of circumstances quicker than most.”

The show, and subsequent life as a professional ice skater, has served as a ready-made replacement for life as a rugby star. “I feel the same adrenalin and buzz standing behind the curtain waiting to go on the ice and perform as I did standing in the rugby players’ tunnel,” he admits. “In many ways I enjoy skating more than rugby. For a start I’m in a lot less pain, and I think I’m better-suited to the rehearsed life as a skater, rather than the more spontaneous, instant decision-making role a rugby player has to take on.

“I absolutely love skating although if I was competing at the Olympics or the world championships, where the pressure’s really on, I’m sure it would be horrendous. I used to watch Torvill and Dean in their pomp and, like everyone else, thought they were fantastic, but only now do I understand just how good they were. It wasn’t just their talent, of which they possessed an abundance of, but their sheer hard work that made them the best.

“I’m a better skater now than when I won the show by a million miles, but there are still six year-olds in England better than me. What they can’t do are the lifts that I can to raise my dance partner, or the throws because for that you need strong arms.”
This is precisely what a man who lifted weights all his life as a professional rugby player has, although Bracken reveals how his body has changed so much since leaving the oval ball behind for a pair of ice skates.

“My body shape was straight up and down as a rugby player but since become an ice skater I’ve developed more of an hour glass figure, with my hips much slender than they used to be. Ironically my biggest concern about skating was my back, which gave me all kinds of serious problems playing rugby. I say ironic because I discovered just how good skating is for your back because to be a good skater is all about core stability. Everything is focussed on the area from your thighs to your ribs and by simply skating you are constantly exercising all this era, and all the key muscle groups.”

Bracken’s body actually presents him with a number of advantages, such as his low centre of gravity and natural strength. “I’m not a short man (5 ft 10in) but I have a short legs and a long body, and I’m naturally strong on the lifts and throws which is an area some ice skaters and dancers struggle in. For this you need strong arms and shoulders, strong quads and especially big glutes, which is where all the weight from the lifts stems from. You’ll find that all male skaters have enormous glutes.

“As a result there is no regime of off the rink training because a one hour session of non-stop skating, practising various moves like the spin and the axle, trains every part of the body required to perform. I usually do two minute acts, which is the same as an intense two minutes on the rugby field, and in a show I’ll perform a number of times. When I’m training I’ll go to the Alexandra Palace ice rink in North London once a day for an hour, and that is more than enough.

“The biggest similarity between playing rugby and ice skating is the transfer of balance from one foot to another, and even from the inside of your foot, to the outside. That’s put me in good stead now that I skate for a living, although I’m still pinching myself how I’ve made such an unlikely transformation.”
As is the rest of rugby.

The Kyran Bracken Ice Party plays in Blackpool 23rd to 31st October, 2009, and will again combine celebrity skaters, professionals and standout music acts. Go to www.kyransiceparty.com

Watch Kyran showing Sportsvibe some moves he's picked up on the rink.

Watch Kyran's video shout to Sportsvibe here.