WARHORSE HAS A LAST RUN
Easter answers call and says: I’ll offer Robshaw my advice
FOR THE best part of four years, Nick Easter endured his England exile and kept believing that he was good enough for another shot. Now he has his reward for keeping the flame alive.
If the Harlequins No 8 plays any part in the encounter with Australia on Saturday, it will serve as further proof that a week is indeed a long time in sport. There aren’t many players who have stood by the touchline with a microphone one weekend and been out on the pitch in national colours the next.
What his stint as a pundit will have rammed home is the magnitude of the occasion he could face in four days’ time. Easter has been to two previous World Cups but never one at home, with all the fanfare and intense scrutiny that goes with it. He returned to the ranks yesterday with a strong statement of intent: ‘There is no backward step this weekend — there can’t afford to be.’
For the 37-year-old, his call-up to replace the injured Billy Vunipola is very much a step in the right direction towards the Test swansong he had pushed so hard for, only to miss out on a place in the final cut. His is a triumph of perseverance and sheer, bloody-minded desire.
‘ I’m absolutely thrilled,’ said Easter. ‘It’s what I’ve kept digging in for since 2011. I came back at the start of the year, worked hard and just missed out on selection last month. It’s very unfortunate for Billy. He played well against Wales and was a star of the Six Nations. You’d like to be in the original squad but clearly I’m very honoured to be here now.’
What England will look for from Easter is the reassurance that comes from a wealth of experience. He is a leader and a powerful voice who can serve as a rallying influence. He set the scene by talking about the players preparing for the ‘ biggest week of their lives’ and ‘knock-out rugby from here on in’.
Easter added: ‘Just through my sheer number of years in the game I’ve been in pressure situations. I have an understanding of what sort of advice to give and I’d like to lend my experience, if I am involved — whether it be in the 23 or the 31. I’m sure those situations will be discussed this week.
‘It’s going to have to be huge. The Aussies are a side who don’t play with much fear, they come with a plan, their execution is of the highest order and you have to be focused all the time. Physically, in every single collision, you’ve got to be ready to get stuck in.’
Easter believes the Wallabies will field both their ball-poachers in the back row, Michael Hooper and David Pocock, in a bid to disrupt England ball and force turnovers.
He said: ‘ They’re likely to come with the Hooper-Pocock scenario, so the breakdown is going to be a huge area of the game. Set-piece will be huge too, but we can’t shut up shop, we’ve got to throw everything at it.
‘It’s a great fixture to have, given the history between the two countries in all sports and our histories at World Cups. We seem to meet each other quite a lot in humdingers. They are all pretty tight. They are an excellently organised team but we’ll have a few tricks up our sleeve as well.’
Easter’s presence will doubtless be appreciated by England captain Chris Robshaw, a long-time ally in the Quins back row.
‘I can definitely offer him support,’ he said. ‘ He was in very jovial spirits in the changing room earlier. When you are pro sportsmen, whether its disappointment or elation, you have to stay on a level, you can’t get carried away when you get a result like Wales did or when you suffer on the other side.
‘I’ll give him my two-penny-worth if he wants it, but we’ve seen this guy bounce back many a time, that’s why he’s the second mostcapped captain. There’s a reason for that. He’s a very resilient guy.’
According to Easter, that resilience is by no means restricted to the captain. He was adamant that the England squad was not a despondent place when he pitched up yesterday afternoon after diverting from Harlequins’ training base in nearby Guildford.
‘The feeling is great,’ he said. ‘There were smiles on faces, and not what I was expecting at all. There was a real bounce in their step, which was superb because sometimes that is quite hard to get out of people. Sometimes people can mope around and sulk about the result or think, “Oh no we have blown it”. But it seems to have been dealt with, they’ve drawn a line under it and moved on to knockout rugby.’
Easter’s very presence and exuberant nature will provide a lift. But now he has come this far, he will want to play, having been keeping the flame alive for so long.