Aviva Premiership
No loss of faith for Eastmond after All Blacks
ESPN Staff
September 1, 2014
Kyle Eastmond will link-up with Sam Burgess at Bath © Getty Images
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England centre Kyle Eastmond has vowed to move on from his experiences in the third Test against New Zealand and is looking to push on this season.

Eastmond shone in the first Test for England back in June but was hauled off at half-time in the third as the All Blacks ran riot in the first-half. And despite the setback, Eastmond, 25, has vowed to learn from the experience as he looks to impress for both Bath and England this term.

"I would normally stew on things if they hadn't gone well," Eastmond told the Daily Telegraph. "It would take me quite a long time to move on. But Stuart [Lancaster] and Andy Farrell showed me various clips and that did me a lot of good. Just as I didn't get too high about the first Test so I can't get too down about the last Test.

"I can't dwell on it too long, or beat myself up about it. Of course there is learning to be taken, but from both experiences. Being substituted at half-time was not an issue for me. Whatever is right for the team is right by me. The management had to do something in that situation.

"As far as I'm concerned, I started two matches against the All Blacks and that was not something I'd have thought would be happening a month before that tour. I'd never lose faith in what I can do, making tackles as a defender. I've done it since I was seven years old. I'm not going to let half an hour of one match change that. I just wouldn't."

His Bath coach Mike Ford told ESPN he had no concerns over Eastmond's mindset after his third Test experience and is currently weighing up how to fit both Eastmond and Sam Burgess into his team. Burgess arrives at the Rec in October, with a view to making his debut in November, and is likely to start his union career in the centres. Ford is looking forward to seeing them work in tandem.

"We don't worry too much about numbers on backs, so we could play him and Kyle together," Ford said. "Defensively we could put Sam at 12, or even at 10 even though he may be wearing 12 on his back, and then put Kyle at 13 in defence. So we don't worry too much about the numbers."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd

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