For a team about to mix it with an in-form New Zealand side, England are remarkably upbeat. There may only be 437 caps in the home side’s match-day 23 compared to the All Blacks’ 1,029 but, as the head coach, Stuart Lancaster, suggested, that is not necessarily the way games of rugby are decided. “On the majority of occasions we’ve played them in the past two years we’ve either won or pushed them close,” he said. “Experience is one thing but dominating on the day is another.”
The margin was rather less narrow in the third Test in June, when New Zealand beat the weary visitors 36-13, but no one sums up England’s psychological resurrection since that nightmare in Hamilton better than Kyle Eastmond. When the centre was dragged off at half-time, bluntly described as “off the pace” defensively by England’s assistant coach, Andy Farrell, the odds on him resuming in midfield this weekend appeared remote.
Five months later, however, Eastmond’s mood is visibly transformed, the chance to line up for his first Twickenham start opposite Sonny Bill Williams a source of delight rather than dread. Before he left Auckland he told Lancaster he would be back and, sure enough, here he is, selected alongside Brad Barritt in yet another reshuffled English midfield.
Bath’s fine season has helped the 25-year-old’s cause but a degree of inner steel has also been required. He has certainly done a good job of consigning the Hamilton experience to Room 101, having decided on his return home to stay true to his positive instincts rather than wallow in self pity. “The last Test didn’t go as well as we’d have liked, for the team and for me as an individual, but I’m not stupid enough to think 40 minutes is going to put me back,” he explained, having been confirmed as one of seven Bath players in England’s 23. “It could drive certain players on but it’s certainly not in my mind.
“Every single player has ups and downs in their career, but it’s how you come back. There was no big meeting [with Lancaster], no massive talk. It was a little bit of a chat at the airport. I got a lot out of the tour and I’ve come back a better player. If I’d stayed in Bath I wouldn’t have learnt anything.”
Kick up the backside or not, his form in the opening weeks of the season has burnt off all the other contenders once it became clear Manu Tuilagi would not be fit. “I did think about my own game in the off season and what I want to get out of it,” conceded Eastmond. “That’s important. You have to know what you want to do and apply that. Even if the third Test had gone well I needed to go back to Bath and really put a marker down.”
What Eastmond will always bring, at his best, is a dash of the unexpected which England badly need this month. There is pace aplenty out on the wings but Mike Brown – with five – has scored more Test tries than his three-quarter line and fly-half Owen Farrell combined. Compared with Julian Savea’s 29 tries in 30 Tests, the contrast is sobering.
Much, then, will depend on whether the 5ft 7in Eastmond – “I don’t want to be messing around, I want to play the best in the world” – can somehow outdo the 6ft 4in Williams. Eastmond is entirely unfazed by the prospect. “I’ve never been big so I’m used to it. It’s not all about that. You have to understand what your opposite number’s going to do and be ready for that.”
The irony, of course, is that England hope Sam Burgess, a long-time friend of Eastmond’s from his rugby league days, will soon perform a similar role to Williams. Eastmond’s dry-humoured reaction – “Does he?” – when asked about Burgess’s desire to represent England should not be mistaken for resignation. Having taken three years to secure a Twickenham start since arriving from league, few are in a better position to judge whether Burgess will be an instant success.
“The transition isn’t easy,” he said flatly. “It takes people different timescales in how they fit in. I understand rugby union now looks similar in certain ways to league but it’s not the same game. It’s completely different. There’s a lot more to it and there’s a lot to learn before you can really excel. But, fair play, Sam’s coming over to have a crack. It’s nice to see him again and I’m sure he’ll do really well.”
England team to play New Zealand
M Brown (Harlequins), S Rokoduguni (Bath), B Barritt (Saracens), K Eastmond (Bath), J May (Gloucester); O Farrell (Saracens), D Care (Harlequins): J Marler (Harlequins), D Hartley (Northampton), D Wilson (Bath), D Attwood (Bath), C Lawes (Northampton), T Wood (Northampton), C Robshaw (Harlequins), B Vunipola (Saracens).
Replacements R Webber (Bath), M Mullan (Wasps), K Brookes (Newcastle), G Kruis (Saracens), B Morgan (Gloucester), B Youngs (Leicester), G Ford (Bath), A Watson (Bath).
