Nick Easter
Encyclopedia
Nick Easter is a rugby union
rugby player who plays at No. 8 or Flanker
for Harlequins
and England
.
He is the brother of Sale Sharks
player Mark Easter
and the nephew of author Anne Easter Smith
. His father John, played squash professionally and reached number 1 in Britain and No.9 in the world. His great grandfather, Pieter Le Roux, played for the Springboks. He attended the South London public school Dulwich College
and Nottingham Trent University
.
before swiftly moving onto Orrell
and then Harlequins where he has stayed since.
He made his England debut in the 2007 Six Nations win against Italy
.
On 4 August 2007, Easter scored four tries as England
beat Wales
by a record 62–5 at Twickenham
in a World Cup
warm-up game. Easter was the first No.8 to score four tries in one match for England
.
Easter won the Harlequins Player of the year award for two consecutive seasons in 2004/5 and 2005/6
which helped him gain England recognition.
Easter was selected for the World Cup squad
. He started 6 matches of the 2007 Rugby World Cup
where he was a key influence in helping the team make the final.
During the 2008 Six Nations he was named man of match against France away in Englands 24–13 win. He also started all 5 matches of the 2009 Six Nations.
On the recent England tour to Australia he was named man of the match in the second test victory 21–20, helping secure England's first win down under for 7 years.
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
rugby player who plays at No. 8 or Flanker
Flanker (rugby union)
A flanker is a position in the sport of rugby union. Flankers play in the forwards, and are generally classified as either blindside, or openside flankers; numbers six and seven respectively. The name comes from their position in a scrum in which they flank each set of forwards...
for Harlequins
Harlequin F.C.
The Harlequin Football Club is an English rugby union team who play in the top level of English rugby, the Aviva Premiership. Their ground in London is Twickenham Stoop...
and England
England national rugby union team
The England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Wales. They have won this championship on 26 occasions, 12 times winning the Grand Slam, making them the most successful team in...
.
He is the brother of Sale Sharks
Sale Sharks
Sale Sharks are a professional rugby union club who play in England in the Aviva Premiership.The club is an offshoot of Sale FC, which is based at Heywood Road in Sale, Greater Manchester, but Sharks currently play in Stockport at Edgeley Park, ground sharing with Stockport County F.C.Part of the...
player Mark Easter
Mark Easter
Mark Easter is a rugby union footballer who plays at No. 8 or Flanker for Sale Sharks after signing from the Northampton Saints in the Summer of 2011...
and the nephew of author Anne Easter Smith
Anne Easter Smith
Anne Easter Smith is an English-American historical novelist. She is the aunt of England rugby No. 8, Nick Easter.Her novels are set during the Wars of the Roses, the period during which two branches of the House of Plantagenet, the Houses of York and Lancaster, were in contention for the throne...
. His father John, played squash professionally and reached number 1 in Britain and No.9 in the world. His great grandfather, Pieter Le Roux, played for the Springboks. He attended the South London public school Dulwich College
Dulwich College
Dulwich College is an independent school for boys in Dulwich, southeast London, England. The college was founded in 1619 by Edward Alleyn, a successful Elizabethan actor, with the original purpose of educating 12 poor scholars as the foundation of "God's Gift". It currently has about 1,600 boys,...
and Nottingham Trent University
Nottingham Trent University
Nottingham Trent University is a public teaching and research university in Nottingham, United Kingdom. It was founded as a new university in 1992 from the existing Trent Polytechnic , however it can trace its roots back to 1843 with the establishment of the Nottingham Government School of Design...
.
Playing career
After a period working in London, Easter moved to Rosslyn Park F.C.Rosslyn Park F.C.
Rosslyn Park Football Club is a rugby union team. Founded in 1879, the club became the first club based in England to play rugby internationally when it faced Stade Francais in Paris on 18 April 1892. In 1912, the club played in Prague, Budapest and Vienna in the first rugby matches ever played in...
before swiftly moving onto Orrell
Orrell R.U.F.C.
Orrell Rugby Union Football Club is a rugby union team from the Orrell area of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, Greater Manchester.The club were founded in 1927, holding a place in the top-tier of rugby union from 1986 to 1997.-1927–1939:...
and then Harlequins where he has stayed since.
He made his England debut in the 2007 Six Nations win against Italy
Italy national rugby union team
The Italy national rugby union team represent the nation of Italy in the sport of rugby union. The team is also known as the Azzurri . Italy have been playing international rugby since the late 1920s, and since 2000 compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland,...
.
On 4 August 2007, Easter scored four tries as England
England national rugby union team
The England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Wales. They have won this championship on 26 occasions, 12 times winning the Grand Slam, making them the most successful team in...
beat Wales
Wales national rugby union team
The Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union tournaments. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy and Scotland. Wales have won the Six Nations and its predecessors 24 times outright, second only to England with...
by a record 62–5 at Twickenham
Twickenham Stadium
Twickenham Stadium is a stadium located in Twickenham, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is the largest rugby union stadium in the United Kingdom and has recently been enlarged to seat 82,000...
in a World Cup
2007 Rugby World Cup
The 2007 Rugby World Cup was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by France from 7 September to 20 October. France won the hosting rights in 2003,...
warm-up game. Easter was the first No.8 to score four tries in one match for England
England national rugby union team
The England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Wales. They have won this championship on 26 occasions, 12 times winning the Grand Slam, making them the most successful team in...
.
Easter won the Harlequins Player of the year award for two consecutive seasons in 2004/5 and 2005/6
National Division One 2005-06
National Division One is a club rugby union competition in England. 2005-06 champions Harlequins were promoted to the Guinness Premiership for the 2006-07 season...
which helped him gain England recognition.
Easter was selected for the World Cup squad
2007 Rugby World Cup squads
This article lists the official squads for the 2007 Rugby World Cup in France. Each of the twenty nations was required to confirm their 30-man squad by 14 August...
. He started 6 matches of the 2007 Rugby World Cup
2007 Rugby World Cup
The 2007 Rugby World Cup was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by France from 7 September to 20 October. France won the hosting rights in 2003,...
where he was a key influence in helping the team make the final.
During the 2008 Six Nations he was named man of match against France away in Englands 24–13 win. He also started all 5 matches of the 2009 Six Nations.
On the recent England tour to Australia he was named man of the match in the second test victory 21–20, helping secure England's first win down under for 7 years.