Eastmond says no to rugby league return

Kyle Eastmond has knocked back the chance to return to rugby league and signed two-year contract extension with his rugby union side Bath.

The former St Helens and England outside back swapped codes to rugby union in 2011. Eastmond had made 74 appearances for Saints and played four games for his country before switching sports.

Left out of England‘s squad for the Rugby Union World Cup last year, Eastmond had been approached about a return to Super League. According to reports, Warrington Wolves had been linked to the star.

But the 26-year old has ruled that out a return to his native code for now with a new contract.

“When I set out to come to rugby union, I came for the long term,” Eastmond told The Daily Mail.

“I’ve been here for four years now. If a couple of things don’ t go my way, I’ve still got goals that I want to achieve.

‘I’m happy at Bath and there’s still a long way for us to go to achieve those things. With the talent we’ve got, there’s no reason we can’t do something special together.’

Sam Burgess, once Eastmond’s teammate at Bath, was picked ahead of him for the 15-man game’s World Cup.

Eastmond has not ruled out a potential move back to rugby league later in his career.

“I’ve known Sam since I was 13 or 14 years old,” Eastmond said.

“He’s a top guy and if he feels that he wanted to go back home, you’ve got to respect his decision. We put that behind us and cracked on.”