Kyle Eastmond can go on the attack for England

Not that the England coach needs much persuading.

Eastmond is successfully defying the current convention in favour of behemoth backs by making the agility of the smaller man – 5ft 6in, 12st 6lb – as much his strength as, say, Jamie Roberts’ vast bulk is his.

Being an ex-rugby league player now under the tutelage of ex-England defence coach Mike Ford at the Rec, there is no need for defensive concern about Eastmond, even with the heavy traffic inevitably coming at him at inside-centre.

And his dancing feet would give England, as they are already giving Bath, an offensive weapon unlike any other in Test rugby.

“He still has quite a way to go but if they play the type of game that suits Kyle, he is ready,” said Ford.

A comparison with Jason Robinson may seem odious but it is Ford who makes it. Eastmond as a centre is capable of a more decisive influence than even Robinson could ever have had as a wing.

“I wouldn’t say the comparison is a bad thing at all, but it’s not something I look at,” said Eastmond. “My game is completely different from what Robinson’s was, though the man is an absolute legend.

“There are other players in union more like him than I am, others with similar assets to those he had. I am just trying to make my own career and name in the game and, hopefully, that’s what I will do.”

In fact, it is difficult to think of a single union player more akin to Robinson. Lancaster has already capped Eastmond twice in Argentina last June and in the second Test in Buenos Aires was rewarded for his confidence with a dazzling individual try, Robinson-style.

Article source: http://www.rugbyweek.com/news/article.asp?id=40468

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Kyle Eastmond can go on the attack for England