The thing is Payne at fullback has been revolutionary for ulster whereas with center hes been good but not as impactful as form the back, I reckon Payne should be kept at 15 and give some competition for Kearney because in reality there been no competitor for the 15 jersey since the days of Murphy and Dempsey.
I agree with you there. Whilst Payne is a bit older than Kearney, i think it will make interesting competition going forward, because, whilst Kearney is a world class full back, if there comes a time where he has a dip in form or gets injured, who's gonna be close to as good as him as a replacement? there is a danger of Kearney getting too used to the full back shirt, and not being challenged. I think some competition will do him some good to keep him on his toes.