IF St Helens beat Huddersfield to reach their fourth consecutive Carnegie Challenge Cup final then one of the players set to have a starring role this weekend fully expects to miss out on playing at Wembley. Since Sean Long broke his jaw back in early July, 20-year-old Kyle Eastmond has broken onto the scene in a massive way, putting in match-winning performances against both Wigan Warriors and Warrington Wolves, the sides Saints could face should they reach the final. But regardless of his excellent form and the chance to play at Wembley, the young half-back is realistic about his chances of playing in the final should Long, a player Eastmond describes as “the best scrum-half in Britain for the last 10 years”, be fit for August 29. In an interview to appear in Sunday’s official Carnegie Challenge Cup semi-final matchday magazine, Eastmond said: “It would be great to play rugby league at Wembley. “There’s nothing much that’s bigger than that in our sport. “Having said that, we’ve got Sean Long in our squad and hopefully he might be back in time if we get to this year’s final. “If he’s fit then that will mean I’ll probably miss out, but that’s only fair when you look at Sean’s record and what he’s achieved in the game.” Despite his tender years Eastmond realises just how important the Carnegie Challenge Cup competition is and insists that Saints currently aren’t thinking about beating Wigan’s record run of eight consecutive Challenge Cup triumphs. “Whenever you play in the Challenge Cup you know it’s one of the most special days out of the year. “This competition has got great history behind it and we want to win it again this year. “People talk about that Wigan record but we don’t really think anything like that. “It’s literally one game at a time, one weekend after the next. “All we can think about is this semi-final.” | 
Article
