Elite squad call for exciting Eastmond

Rugby Union:

OLDHAM flyer Kyle Eastmond has been called into England head coach Stuart Lancaster’s 33-man elite player squad.

The 24-year-old former Radclyffe School pupil will gather with his national squad-mates for a three-day training camp in Loughborough later this month as they begin preparations for tasty-looking QBE international fixtures against Australia, Argentina and New Zealand in November.

Eastmond (pictured centre) has made terrific strides following his code switch from rugby league in 2011.

In October of that year Eastmond moved from St Helens to Bath and ever since has proved a revelation for the Aviva Premiership giants.

Regularly compared to former Sale Sharks star and 2003 World Cup-winning convert Jason Robinson, Eastmond has already made his debut for the England RU side, and he scored a try during his first start for his country in a 51-26 win against Argentina in Buenos Aires in June.

England coach Lancaster has been particularly delighted with the way playmaker Eastmond has taken rugby union by storm since his code switch almost two years ago.

He said: “Kyle is the first real rugby league half-back who has come through and taken his opportunity in the rugby union ranks.

“He has got a strong sense of self-belief in his own ability, which shines through on the training field.

“He is a dominant player on the field, which he needs to be. He’s a decision maker and a key organiser.

“You need to have an effective communication and he has got that.”