Leeds coach Richard Agar encouraged by “solid” Kyle Eastmond debut

REPORT: Leeds 6-19 Wigan: Zak Hardaker inspires Warriors to victory at Headingley

Eastmond was told by Agar to feel his way back into the game after an absence of almost a decade and there were clear signs of rust as the 31-year-old struggled to make an impact in his first game of any rugby for over 12 months.

Agar said: “I thought he was solid. Defensively he was outstanding. He pulled off some strong tackles on their right edge.

“He struggled to find his way into the game with the ball but that was only natural given the limited preparation he has had in our team.

“It probably would have helped him if we had some recognised pivots around him but I thought he warmed to it well and he will be better for the run.”

Eastmond says he was happy to get through the 80 minutes and is confident he can quickly get back up to speed.

He said: “I feel a little bit relieved. The main thing was to get this one under my belt after being out of the game for 14 months.

“Training is not really any good to me, for me it’s about real action. I honestly thought it was going to be worse than that.”