Former England international Nick Easter will be coaching in the Gallagher Premiership next season, joining up with Newcastle Falcons as their new defence coach.
The 41-year-old won 54 England caps between 2007 and 2015, playing in three Rugby World Cups and making 281 appearances for Harlequins.
Spending two seasons as defence guru with the London club following his retirement as a player in 2016, Easter has been in Durban for the past two seasons, helping Natal Sharks win the 2018 Currie Cup final, as well as serving as forwards and defence coach for the Sharks in Super Rugby.
“He has a good few years’ coaching experience under his belt at a high level, and will add a lot to our group.” 💪
— Premiership Rugby (@premrugby) July 23, 2020
Cracking news for @FalconsRugby as @nick_easter joins them as defence coach for their highly-anticipated #PremRugby return 🙌
Read all about it 👇
Newcastle Falcons director of rugby Dean Richards welcomed news of Easter’s imminent arrival on Tyneside, saying: “He has a good few years coaching experience under his belt at a high level, and will add a lot to our group.
“I worked with Nick at Harlequins during his playing career, and he’s a great character who really understands the game. He has since gone on and broadened his coaching horizons in South Africa, and will bring a fresh pair of eyes at a really important time for the club.
“I’m really excited about what Nick can bring as we embark on our preparation for the 2020/21 Premiership season, and it’s an exciting time for the club.”
JOIN THE RUCK
Delighted to have agreed his move to Kingston Park, Easter said: “It’s great to have the opportunity to coach back in the Premiership – especially working with a guy like Dean and at a club like Newcastle.
“I have a great relationship with Dean having played under him at Harlequins, and he’s doing great work up there with a couple of promotions and a top-four Premiership finish. It’s a club on the rise, I and I want to play my part.
“I’ve had a great experience in South Africa over the last few years, and learned a lot from being involved in Super Rugby. I’ll now be looking to take that and grow it further in working with an outstanding group of coaches and players at the Falcons, and it’s an exciting prospect.”
Nick Easter names his Dream Team
England and Harlequins legend Nick Easter has revealed his all-time Dream Team of players he’s played with for The Rugby Paper.
1. Tim Payne – Everyone needs a drinking buddy in the team with them. After long training sessions Tim will keep the banter going. Exactly what you need for team cohesion.
2. Tani Fuga – We played together for a long time at Quins and always seemed to be on the same wavelength. He would run great lines and was great to play alongside.
3. Mike Ross – You need to have someone in the team to laugh at and Mike fits the bill. He aslo did a very good job at Quins to force his way into the Ireland reckoning.
4. Simon Shaw – A one-man maul-wrecking machine. It’s incredible to think he’s still going strong and he has great skills for a big man.
5. Victor Matfield – Every time I played against him he ruled the airwaves, never more so than in the World Cup final in 2007. We just couldn’t get the ball off him. He was also a real athlete, especially in his younger days.