After 281 appearances for his club and 54 for his country, Nick Easter has announced that he is bringing his illustrious career to an end at the age of 37.
A slow starter, Easter rose from League 2 to the Premiership in just 2 years. In spite of Harlequins' suffering the setback of relegation, it would be the start of another 2 year journey which culminated in him starting at number eight for England in their second consecutive World Cup final.
The only man to score four tries in an England vs Wales clash, the oldest scorer of a hat-trick in test rugby, man of the match in England's shock win in Australia 2010, the captain as England won their first Six Nations in eight years and playing a huge role in guiding Harlequins to their first ever Premiership title in 2012, it has been a special 15 years for the legend known as "Minty".
Before he heads into the coaching department at Quins to try and sort out their shambolic defence, which was the 3rd worst in the premiership last year, this article will look back on the greatest moments and periods of his career.
Promotion and Player of the Season
2005/06 was the season that turned Easter into a serious player, despite being 26 when the season began. He had been awarded player of the season at Quins the season before, but it had been a miserable season for the London, who had been relegated from the Premiership. Winning the award was really a case of him being the best of a bad bunch.
But the following season was a different story, Harlequins won all but one of their games in their division with Easter scoring 11 tries in the season, and putting in 5 man of the match performances. For the second year in a row he was player of the season having played a huge role in their return to the Premiership.
Four tries in Wales thumping
After being capped for England for the first time in the 2007, Easter established himself as a serious international player with four tries against Wales as England earned their record win by 62 points to 5. His four tries came from a combined total of 4 metres, but that didn't put a dampener on the amazing achievement.
Easter signals the number of tries he went over for
It was more than just tries for Easter however, his all round performance in that game had proved that he could compete at the highest level and from being an almost certain second choice, he started to apply pressure on Lawrence Dallaglio for the eight shirt, and after Dallaglio's disappointing performance in the first game of the Rugby World Cup, Easter was straight into the team for the next game
World Cup Finalist
That game was a 0-36 thumping at the hands of South Africa. And Easter was the first to accept how poor England were, describing it as a "trouncing" that was "embarrassing". But the number eight also urged his team-mates to stay calm, saying "there is no point being angry. If you lose your head, it's over. You have got to have a cool head."
He urged the men in white to "back ourselves more, maintain tactics and discipline.", and his messages of calm helped England through a stern test against Samoa. With Samoa trailing by just one point at 23-22 down and putting huge pressure on England, they stayed calm enough to come through.
They also stayed calm in their next game against Tonga, fighting back from 7 points down in the winner-takes-all clash to progress to the quarter finals. It was that quarter final where he truly nailed his name to the eight jersey. In one of his best ever performances in an England shirt and one of England's greatest days he caused Australia endless problems at the breakdown and stole the ball with Australia threatening on a number of occasions. The men in white won 12-10 against all odds to progress.
After he played another key role in England's semi-final win over France 14-9 to move into the World Cup Final. He retained the Number 8 shirt, and was picked to start in that game. He had gone from a Championship player to a World Cup finalist in 2 short years.
England had to settle for Second place after a remarkable tournament
Six Nations Champion and England Captain
Easter remained a permanent fixture in the international team and was appointed England vice Captain for his consistently strong international performances and forward leadership at the start of the 2010/11 international season. With Mike Tindall rested, he ran out as Captain of England for the first time aged 32, against Samoa. England put in a solid performance, helped by a strong performance from Minty to earn a 26-13 win.
England kicked on from that impressive Autumn Series with four straight wins in the Six Nations with Easter starting each game. After an injury to Mike Tindall, he was awarded the Captain's armband for a grand slam encounter against Ireland.
That turned out to be one of English rugby's worst days as they suffered a 8-24 defeat to an Ireland side that had had a really poor tournament up to that point. Easter admitted his side was "second best" that day and that the young team "didn't execute well". However, courtesy of Wales' defeat to France, England were Champions
Unfortunately for Easter, he could not lift the trophy in front of a crowd of cheering away support with a grand slam. The celebrations took place in a hotel dining room in Dublin, with no-one to cheer the men in white on, but Easter was the man that lifted the trophy. It was still a great moment for him and one he should look back on with immense pride. The only England Captain to lift that coveted trophy between and including 2004 and 2015, and for his contribution to the national team between 2007 and that day, he thoroughly deserved it.
Easter just about managed to raise a smile after a difficult day in Dublin
Harlequins Hero
He was involved in the 2011 Rugby Union World Cup and was reported to be
the player to have reacted to England's quarter-final defeat by France in
Auckland by joking: "There's £35k just gone down the toilet."
Unfortunately, that was a huge taint on his record and Between 2012-2014,
despite being regarded as the 'best No. 8 in England', he found his road into
the England squad blocked, but during that time enjoyed success with Harlequins
helping them to win the Amlin Challenge Cup the year before, the club's
first-ever English Premiership title in 2012 and LV Cup the following year.
In my opinion, Easter played some of his best rugby during this period. With many first choice Harlequins players regularly having to go on international duty, he became an integral part of the squad. Into his mid thirties, his work-rate was formidable and always made yardage when he carried. He soon broke the Harlequins record for appearances made and established himself as one of the clubs all time greatest players.
The Premiership win was so well deserved for a man who had given a tremendous 8 years (which went on to be 12) to his club, through good times and bad. He played a huge part throughout the season and despite the searing conditions on the day of the final, put in a typically fantastically committed performance.
Easter would go on to win two more player of the season awards at Harlequins, in 2012/13 and 2014/15, and in spite of a Challenge Cup final defeat to Montpellier in his last season, he personally went out as one of Quins' best players, at the age of 37.
He didn't get any special send off at Quins, but fittingly he got the perfect send off for his country at the 2015 Rugby World Cup. England were out heading into the final game of their group stage, but that didn't stop Easter giving his all in his swansong. England romped to a 60-3 win over Uruguay, who had just 4 professional players, with Easter scoring a hat-trick. Like the Wales thumping he only made a handful of yards for his tries, but it won't say that on the scoresheet, and it was an amazing day for the veteran.
Easter had had to work so hard to get himself back into the England squad, but he had played so well that he simply couldn't be denied a place in the side. He had made it to a third world cup and became the oldest player to score a hat-trick in test rugby, and be awarded a man of the match award at a Rugby World Cup.
Easter pounces to poach his second try en route to a hat-trick vs Uruguay
So after only getting into professional rugby at the age of 23 and going pro at 25, Nick Easter more than made up for his slow start with a series of wonderful moments in a terrific career. He was selfish in front of the try line, but he deserved to be for all the selfless work he would do in game after game to help his team, club and country. He was a fine player whose effort could not be faulted, but turning up to pre-season this July he probably thought "Nah" and decided to call it a day.
No matter what club or country you support, there's no denying that Easter was a true gent, and someone that showed that hard work and determination can take you such a long way in team sport, even if you lack a bit of talent. I'm not saying Easter was no good but he made himself into the best player he could possibly be and was up their with the best number 8's in the world for a period. He will be hugely missed by Harlequins next season, but hopefully his presence in the coaching team will add plenty to the side and keep him busy.
A true legend of the sport.
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