 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Kyle Ovid Eastmond | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1989-07-17)17 July 1989 (age 35)[1] Oldham,Greater Manchester, England | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 14 st 13 lb (95 kg)[2] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby league | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Scrum-half, Stand-off, Centre, Fullback | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby union | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Centre,Fullback | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Coaching information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
As of 9 March 2025 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Education | the Radclyffe School | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Relatives | Craig Eastmond (cousin) Miles Greenwood (cousin) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Kyle Ovid Eastmond (born 17 July 1989)[5] is a former dual-code rugby international, who played for St Helens, Bath Rugby and Leicester Tigers. He also played for England on multiple occasions in both codes. He is the current head coach ofHalifax Panthers in theRFL Championship.
Eastmond playedrugby union forBath,Wasps and theLeicester Tigers inPremiership Rugby andEngland at international level. Prior to 2011 he playedrugby league forSt Helens in theSuper League, and played forEngland at international level.
Kyle attended the Parish Church CEVA School, Oldham andthe Radclyffe School, Oldham.[6]
Eastmond is the cousin of former professionalrugby league footballer;Miles Greenwood.[7] Kyle is also related toSutton United'sCraig Eastmond, who is his cousin. He has supported Manchester United since childhood.
During high school Eastmond began his rugby career playing rugby league for Oldham St Annes but in 2007, Eastmond was promoted to training with theSt Helens first team squad.
Eastmond had been compared toAustralian internationalScott Prince, because of his darting runs to the line and a good kicking game. He has also got a keen eye for a gap in the defensive line.
In 2008, he was given the number 24 jersey and made a spectacular early impression in the traditionalGood Friday fixture withWigan, scoring a late try and a goal.[8] He made 13 appearances in this season scoring 6 tries. He was then compared toJason Robinson for his general attributes, and with his size finds it easy to duck under any oncoming opposition which helped him make 778m.
In 2009, Eastmond became an influential player for theSt Helens side. He may have played one less game than in 2008, but he scored 8 tries, 30 goals (18 more than the previous year), seven try assists, he gained 899m and made more clean breaks.
Eastmond capped off an impressive year in 2009 by scoring all of Saints' 10 points in the2009 Super League Grand Final defeat byLeeds atOld Trafford.[9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21]
He was then selected forEngland in the2009 Four Nations tournament and made his international début againstWales in a warm-up game. In December 2009, Eastmond signed a new two-year contract with St Helens that ended at the end of the 2011 Super League season.
AfterSean Long leftSt. Helens to joinHull F.C. at the end of the 2009 season, Kyle became the new number 7 for Saints. He started the year very well before injuries hit him for the 2nd half of the season. Despite this, he still managed to make 19 appearances, scoring 15 tries, 63 goal kicks (while missing 18) and making two drop goals. He made a total of 1615m. He repeatedly aggravated past injuries forcing him to miss theGrand Final defeat byWigan.Matty Smith, now ofWigan, returned from his loan spell at Salford for the play-offs and featured in the final.
In early 2011 Eastmond was linked with a move toRugby Union. He put these rumours on hold when he started the season with Saints. However, he performed poorly and frustrated fans. On 28 February 2011 both the Saints, and coachRoyce Simmons, confirmed he was to leave Saints to joinBath Rugby. After the announcement, Eastmond promised to be 100% committed to his current club for the rest of the season.[22] Commenting on the move, Bath Director of RugbySir Ian McGeechan said he envisions Eastmond playing atcentre.
On 16 March 2011 it was announced on theSt. Helens website that he had been suspended by the club pending an investigation into serious misconduct. The club followed this up by saying that no further comments were to be made until the completion of the investigation. It was later confirmed by the club that he had made an inappropriate gesture to his home fans, and it was unlikely he would ever play in the ‘Red V’ again, especially after the emergence of scrum-half sensationJonny Lomax, and stand-offLee Gaskell. He was dropped to the under-18s team but after injuries struck Saints, Eastmond was called on to fill in. He had to play under difficult circumstances, with Saints fans booing him with every touch of the ball. Despite this, he made a decent return. In July 2011 he successfully made the switch from the halfbacks to fullback, scoring two tries againstWakefield Trinity on 9 July. After that, Eastmond regained his confidence and was playing in a similar way to the 2008-09 seasons. He managed 15 appearances and scored five tries, but his workload was reduced to just four goal kicks (three missed kicks), due toJamie Foster replacing him as the club's kicker.
On 3 March 2021 it was reported that he had signed for Leeds in theSuper League,[23] however, on 17 May he announced his immediate retirement from rugby having played only two games for his new club.
Eastmond joined Bath, when he moved in October 2011, after his contract finished at Saints. At Bath he played well and picked up Rugby Union quickly meaning that in 2013, Eastmond was selected to play for the England Saxons. During the 13/14 season, Eastmond formed a crucial partnership with George Ford, which led to Baths resurgence to the top of Aviva Premiership, he would then get selected for the main England side in the 2014 Autumn internationals but missed out on selection to England's World Cup squad to then Bath Club colleague Sam Burgess.
After a poor season by the whole team after the World Cup he left Bath to join Wasps who were emerging as top team and had bought a new stadium in the Ricoh Arena, Coventry. His period with Wasps was blighted by injury, and resultantly playing second-choice often from the bench to other more reliable players.
On 1 August 2018 Leicester Tigers announced the signing of Eastmond.[24] He left ahead of the 2020–21 season.[25]
Eastmond was selected in theEngland squad to tour America in the summer of 2013. He played his first game in the uncapped match against Barbarians on 26 May 2013, scoring a try shortly after coming off the bench as a replacement.[26]
He won his first England cap as a replacement in the first test againstArgentina.[27]
Eastmond made his first start for England on 15 June 2013, replacing Lions call-upBilly Twelvetrees. He scored a try in the 51-26 victory over Argentina.[28]
On 25 October 2024 he was announced as the new head coach ofHalifax Panthers[29][30]
