Chinnor have landed a huge coup with the appointment of Nick Easter as their director of rugby.
The National League One club confirmed the appointment today.
The 44-year-old will begin the role next week and joins our Club with a wealth of playing and coaching experience at the highest level.
Easter - who played at three World Cups for England - was most recently defence and forwards coach at Worcester Warriors.
The former No 8 made 281 appearances for Harlequins during his playing career and represented his country 54 times.
Easter said of his appointment: "I am looking forward to this opportunity and I am delighted to become the Club's new Director of Rugby. Chinnor is a fantastic community club and the aim is to build on what has been acheived here in recent years."
Chinnor RFC Thame First XV Head Coach, Craig Hampson, added: "We told the boys at training last night and there was a brilliant reaction.
"It’s a great signing for the Club to bring in someone with his experience as both a player and a coach. Myself, the rest of the coaching team, and the players are really looking forward to working with him.”
After hanging up his boots, Easter spent two years as Harlequins' defence coach, before joining Natal Sharks in South Africa as forwards and attack coach, helping them win the Currie Cup in 2018. Nick returned to England in 2020, becoming the defence and breakdown coach at Newcastle Falcons before moving on to Worcester.
Nick Easter facts:
- He began his career in 2001, playing for Orrell, before moving to Harlequins three years later
- Easter began playing for the England national team in 2007, playing in the 2007, 2011 and 2015 Rugby World Cups
- His father, John, played squash professionally and reached No. 1 in Britain and No. 9 in the world
- His great grandfather, Pieter Le Roux, played for the Springboks
- After 15 seasons, 54 international appearances and a record 281 appearances for Harlequins, Easter announced his retirement on 29 July 2016
Most overrated rugby players in history:
20. Owen Farrell
19. Semi Radradra
18. Bryan Habana
17. Sam Warburton
16. Billy Vunipola
15. Cheslin Kolbe
14. Paul O'Connell
13. Schalk Burger
12. Maro Itoje
Woodward wants Maro Itoje back in the second-row
11. James Haskell
10. Sonny Bill Williams
10. Chris Ashton
"Lazy player with a terrible workrate, decent positioning at times that sees him finish off the good work of other players and get all the undeserved credit. Poor tackler too."
” That man lived off his ‘solo’ try against Australia and managed to get in the England team every time. He couldn’t tackle a crossword! Lacks creativity and only works running a line of a short pass from number ten. Overrated definitely!”
Jack Goodhue of New Zealand is held in the tackle by Maro Itoje of England and Chris Ashton of England during the Quilter International Match between England and New Zealand at Twickenham Stadium, Twickenham, London on 10th November 2018. - PHOTO: Gareth Davies/PPAUK
9. James O'Connor
8. George North
"He had a few good years between 2011-2013 and then he has died down. Hasn't looked good as the commentary teams make him out to be."
"George bloody North!"
"I think it's important to separate the player he was back in 2013, with the player he became once injury and loss of form hit. Definitely overrated though, but I think that's the media's fault."
7. Manu Tuilagi
6. Alun Wyn Jones
"Maybe he got so many caps as there's been such a paucity of Welsh second rows. Maybe."
"At this point he only gets chosen because Wales Online will go nuclear and blow up Cardiff if he doesn't"
"I really really really don't understand why he is rated so highly"
"H'es been a great player. But he should have been nowhere near the starting jersey for the Lions in my opinion."
One fan argue back, saying: "Maybe he’s got 12 lions caps in a row, won numerous 6N championships, been nominated for world player of the year twice 4 years apart, and is the record cap holder in history because he is one of the greatest locks of all time...maybe.
"If there’s one player in world rugby who has caused more people to have egg on their faces after writing him off and downplaying his rugby ability, it’s AWJ."
5. Finn Russell
4. Danny Cipriani
3. Gavin Henson
2. Sergio Parisse
"Going to be controversial but Sergio Parisse. Sure he had fantastic skills but he was a show pony and not a work horse and people often overlooked this. He looked fantastic for Italy but that was because he was allowed to do all the flashy stuff but was mediocre in other areas."
"I think Parisse got a lot of credit just for being a leader and a quality player in a poor Italy side and was never rated by anyone as anywhere near world class"
"Consistently made world xv teams on scant evidence."
"Never has a cliche ever fit a player more than overrated show pony for Sergio Parisse"
"Honestly.... by the end of his career Parisse."
1. Sebastien Chabal
"The French forward is a player who jumps to mind."
"His appearance was half his reputation. Whenever he was given the appropriate attention he folded."
"Talented athlete who put in the odd big tackle but when push came to shove he always seemed to wilt away from the physical side of the game."
"Maybe not any more but I think Chabal was always vastly overrated. He did the odd massive hit and good carry but overall his impact on most games was pretty average for a man with so much hype."
"Good 6, terrible 8, even worse lock."
