Eastmond looking up after his shock exit from Rec

KYLE Eastmond admits his departure from Bath was a shock – but is relishing the challenge of forcing his way into Wasps’ starstudded midfield.

Eastmond looked set to extend his stay at Bath after signing a lucrative heads of agreement in January.

However, once head coach Mike Ford was sacked in May, the former England Rugby League player was left in limbo after the club failed to complete the deal.

He told The Rugby Paper: “It took me by surprise and a lot of things went on, but all that’s been and gone now and I’m looking forward to the future.

“Everything happened so quickly but once I knew Wasps were interested, I’d spoken to Dai Young in the past and really liked what I was hearing. Things change and when you look at how this team’s building, it was an easy decision.”

From partnering Jonathan Joseph at Bath, Eastmond now faces a fight to displace in-form Jimmy Gopperth from the No.12 jersey, with Brendan Macken waiting in the wings along with injured Aussie star Kurtley Beale.

Eastmond, 27, said: “Wherever I’ve played I’ve had competition and that’s what you want. You don’t want to just come to a club and get handed anything, you welcome that battle as a professional and it makes you a better player.

“All our backline are very good players, from Danny Cipriani and Jimmy Gopperth at flyhalf, to Elliot Daly, Christian Wade, Frank Halai and Rob Miller, with Willie Le Roux and Kurtley Beale to come!

“So I’ll just work hard to put my hand up and be ready to play.”

Almost two years have elapsed since livewire Eastmond won the last of six England caps during the home loss to South Africa in November 2014.

He added: “Everybody would love to play for England, but I need to get some 80 minutes’ under my belt over the next few weeks and go from there.

“I just want to do my best for Wasps and I’ve got to look after my own game first. Anything coming off the back of that would be brilliant.”