EASTER RISING
Former Harlequins and England No 8 is helping Falcons fly high as defence coach
IF NICK EASTER were to repeat his post-training routine now from his time coaching in Durban, he may get hypothermia. Up in Newcastle, dips in the North Sea are off limits.
‘When I coached the Sharks in South Africa, I’d finish a session at 2.30pm, hit the gym for a bit, go to the beach for a surf, then head into the village for a £2 steak and a £3 bottle of wine,’ says Easter, 42.
‘You were never in more than a T-shirt and shorts. Sunblock was your only protection. Now, it’s as many layers as possible!
‘It’s cold with crisp, frosty mornings. Sometimes the wind cuts right through you, but it’s not wet, they save that for the
North West.’ But make no mistake, Easter is loving the Toon.
A dash of old and new school suits the former Harlequins and England No 8 perfectly — although he missed out on a drinking session with his old boss Dean Richards when recruited in July.
‘Dean said, “Let’s go to the pub and have a few there, then for a curry with the coaches”. I was going to stay the night and meet the players the next day, but I had a shocking bout of food poisoning.
‘It was unlike me to pull out of something like that. Then when I got up there, we went into a further lockdown.’
The offer to join Newcastle came at the perfect time for Easter ( right). Having retired from playing at Quins in 2016, he joined the coaching staff. In charge of all his mates, it never clicked. Paul Gustard’s arrival saw him leave for Natal.
By 2018, he was puffing his famous end- of- season cigar triumphantly having helped the Sharks win the Currie Cup. But when he returned home earlier this year, he saw opportunities dwindle due to the lockdown.
‘ There were a couple of options, then Covid struck and they went by the wayside with teams making cuts and minimising their coaching set-ups.
‘ For three months, I was trying to make ends meet in any way I could with the uncertainty about when rugby was going to come back.’
When Richards rang, Easter’s ears pricked. A follow- up two- hour chat in London sealed the deal for Easter to become Newcastle’s breakdown and defence coach. He wants to bring his wife and baby son up north soon.
‘ Dean is one of the best in the business. You want to work for a good boss, someone who allows you to get on with your job, doesn’t try to micromanage you, but challenges you each day. ‘ He doesn’ t want to sit there and survive, he wants to win things. It’s in his DNA.’ For years, the Falcons have flown under the radar — unfancied, unfashionable, up in their north-eastern outpost where they are rarely visited by the RFU or considered a threat to the established order. They love that, and so does Easter.
‘It suits defence massively, doesn’t it?’ he smiles. ‘We do things differently because of the long distances to travel.
‘We’ve got half the budget of everyone else, so you have to be more than the sum of your parts and hang on when the pressure comes.
‘A lot of that is embedded. It’s a terrific group of players — very coachable. They have a great attitude and are hungry.
‘We’ve not managed to have the coach journeys with the lads yet, but they know how to enjoy themselves. That always brings a group together, especially in rugby where you put your bodies on the line. There’s a good bond here.’
It shows. Having had no proper game between March and November — during which Richards worked without pay, volunteered at Northumbria Police and some players took 50 per cent wage cuts — the Falcons marked their return to the top flight by beating Bath, Sale and Wasps, with veteran Toby Flood scoring 17 decisive points in narrow wins.
Their Boxing Day match hosting Leicester was then called off due to Covid cases in the Tigers camp, with the Falcons awarded four points to keep them second.
‘ I’m absolutely loving it,’ Easter added. ‘But the glass is always half empty — that is the nature of a coach.
‘ We might have caught a few teams cold, but the next few rounds will be the acid test.’