Eastmond cleared for Bok Test

London - England centre Kyle Eastmond has been cleared to face the Springboks at Twickenham on Saturday after overcoming a bout of illness, coach Mike Catt revealed on Tuesday.

Rugby league convert Eastmond, 25, started in England's 24-21 loss to New Zealand on Saturday, but then came down with diarrhoea.

However, he was able to play a full part in training on Tuesday, along with wing Semesa Rokoduguni, who had been struggling with a hip problem.

"Kyle was a bit ill, but he's fully fit now. Rokoduguni trained as well and seems to be all right," said attacking skills coach Catt.

Had Eastmond not recovered in time to face South Africa, head coach Stuart Lancaster was reportedly prepared to move Owen Farrell to inside centre and select George Ford at fly-half.

But while Catt believes a Farrell-Ford axis could work well, he feels that Eastmond deserves a second chance against the Springboks.

"At the moment Kyle is doing all right alongside Owen," Catt said. "Kyle got some good hits in against New Zealand. He looked confident and we expect a big performance this weekend, too.

"Picking Owen and George would mean two ball-playing fly-halves in the team. From my experiences of playing with Jonny Wilkinson, it works if you want to play a particular game.

"They are both still very young and the beauty about those two is that it's all about the team. It is not about them as individuals.

"They have one hell of a relationship, but we will obviously address it when it needs to be addressed. If picking them is what's best for the team, then I am sure Stuart will do it."