Injured Eastmond 'not too serious'

CHALLENGE CUP: St Helens coach Mick Potter is confident that Kyle Eastmond has not suffered a major injury after he hobbled out of the 32-12 quarter-final victory over brave Barrow Raiders.

The England scrum-half, 20, landed awkwardly after he was tackled in the 15th minute and was left writhing on the ground in agony before being replaced.

Eastmond looked to have turned an ankle but was able to hobble to his feet after treatment.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Potter said: "Kyle's ankle is pretty sore and is all strapped up, but I don't think there is a break or any major ligament damage.

"We'll wait for the results of a scan on Tuesday. He said the initial pain was really bad but subsided quickly and that was pleasing."

England face France on June 12 in new coach Steve McNamara's first game in charge but Potter said Eastmond's injury must make him "very doubtful" for that match.

Although Saints moved into the Challenge Cup semi-finals for a record 10th successive year, Eastmond's loss disrupted their early rhythm.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Potter's men struggled badly for any kind of fluency during a first half which saw them establish a 16-6 lead.

That was cut to four points shortly after the restart when Barrow forward Ned Catic grabbed his second try, but there was to be no fairytale upset.

Saints, who claimed first-half tries from Paul Clough (2) and Jonny Lomax, added further scores through James Roby, Lomax and Matt Gidley.

Potter said: "Ten successive cup semi-final appearances is a fantastic statistic for St Helens and I hope that continues.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"The slippery conditions probably made things a bit more even today and I thought Barrow matched us physically and came up with some really good plays."

Championship outfit Barrow, who have designs on a place in Super League, again illustrated the quality that saw them win at Castleford in the previous round.

Backed by around 2,000 fans, the Cumbrians were impressive throughout and Raiders coach Steve McCormack said: "I'm full of immense pride because we competed really well for 80 minutes. At times we looked on par with St Helens and went toe to toe with them for long periods. We're really ambitious and to have a Cumbrian team in Super League would be great.

"I think we have shown at Castleford and here that, if we did get into Super League, we would have the fanbase and a team that can compete."