ENGLAND coach Mike Catt insists Bath centre Kyle Eastmond is the right ingredient to fill the number 12 jersey alongside Brad Barritt during the autumn internationals.

Stuart Lancaster’s men were heavily criticised for their wayward kicking game during the 24-21 reverse against New Zealand on Saturday at Twickenham, prompting calls to move Owen Farrell to inside centre and insert George Ford into the fly-half role.

Injuries to Manu Tuilagi and Luther Burrell on the eve of the autumn internationals saw Eastmond and Barritt promoted to the centre pairing and Catt believes the decision was the right one.

Against the All Blacks England defended manfully in midfield, scored a cracking try through Jonny May and should have had a second score before the break as Mike Brown knocked on with the try-line gaping.

And Catt revealed such statistics prove Eastmond performed well against New Zealand and deserves a second chance against South Africa this weekend.

“There's good competition in those kinds of areas but you also want consistency and you do want to get the combinations right so the boys can excel,” said Catt.

“I think from a defensive point of view we were very, very solid at the weekend, and attacking-wise we were very limited in what we got.

“But we saw exactly what Kyle can do in the first test in New Zealand when we got the right type of ball in the summer.

“Kyle and Brad are both on top of their game at the moment. They are massively confident and they are the right people to be there, even if we do chop and change like every team does.

“I think having a young side with guys that are just getting used to international rugby is not helpful - although I don't want to go on about it as it's been three years - it's a big melting pot.

“At the end of the day all you want is an established 12 and 13 to do the job for you. When you're learning test match rugby you have to be ready to go in-and-out of the team. Look how many times it happened to me!

“It's a part of finding which combinations are best for the team and going from there.”

Eastmond has enjoyed an impressive start to the season and in the absence of Tuilagi and Burrell was the stand-out candidate to start the autumn internationals.

And Catt is calling on the England public to be patient as Eastmond continues to find his form and make his mark at international level. “Luther Burrell did incredibly well over the Six Nations but obviously he is injured now,” added Catt. “Kyle has taken his chance playing so well in the first six or seven games of the season so he deserves his shot.

“Brad has been exceptional for Saracens yet again, so he deserves the shot. The good thing is to have all of them here and we can see them in training.

“You can't underestimate defence in international rugby; it is what it's all about. All the teams to win the World Cup have had the best defence not the best attack, so we need Kyle and Brad out there.”

Samsung are the Official Consumer Electronics & Smartphone Partner of the England Rugby Team. For more information, offers and competitions visit www.facebook.com/SamsungSport or follow us on Twitter @SamsungSport