Ben Morgan was only just coming round after surgery on the broken left leg that has ruled him out of the Six Nations when Nick Easter, at the age of 36, was making a case to be considered as England’s No8 more than three years after his last appearance for his country.
Easter has just signed a two-year contract with Harlequins. The club’s director of rugby, Conor O’Shea, believes a player who has only missed one league match through injury in the past three years has not signed his last deal with the club and Easter, named man of the match after Quins’ record Premiership victory over Leicester, says he is a better player than when he last played for England.
Graham Rowntree, the England forwards coach, was among the capacity crowd. He was the last member of the national management to speak officially to Easter in October 2012 when it was made clear to the No8 they were not going back to the future. Morgan’s injury gives the selectors pause for thought and Easter showed his ability to turn a match when he played in Danny Care for the try that gave Quins a lead they were not to lose.
“Perhaps the England management thought I would not be around by the time the World Cup started,” Easter said, “but I like to prove people wrong. The prospect of playing for England again does drive me: you always have to have that carrot. The door has been pretty much shut for quite a while but I have not announced my retirement. If I got a call-up I would do my utmost.
“I think I am a miles-better player than when I was last capped: decision-making comes with experience and my body is in as good a shape as it has ever been, despite the years. The last conversation I had with England about rugby was along the lines of they had picked their squad, but injuries happen. When Stuart Lancaster told me I would not be in his first Six Nations squad I said that in the last few World Cup finals you had Brad Thorn, Os du Randt and Neil Back all well into their 30s and part of winning sides. I can only carry on playing, enjoying my rugby and doing well. It is up to the selectors then. Sometimes your face fits, sometimes it doesn’t. I hope there is a mould somewhere.”
Easter is a perfect fit for Harlequins, a thinking, skilful forward who embodies the adventure and enterprise they show. His first-half assist for Care, when he was wrapped up by two tacklers but stayed on his feet and made the ball available for the scrum-half with a pass that had to be precise in its timing, showed a subtlety Leicester lacked. There has often been a one-dimensional nature to England’s attacking game against the leading sides in recent years, but after so long doing without him they are unlikely to regard Easter as arriving in the nick of time.
Quins’ second try was scored by a back-rower somewhat younger than Easter, Jack Clifford, the 21-year-old profiting from Care’s decision to tap a penalty at the end of the first-half in Leicester’s 22 rather than go for three points. “That’s how we play and as soon as Danny went we were all behind him,” Clifford said. “Having Nick at No8 is invaluable for me: there is no one better to learn from.”
Easter supplied the pass to Marland Yarde for the try that took the game away from Leicester, although it was Tom Williams who was responsible for the surprisingly wide gap that confronted the England wing.
“We did not take our opportunities and paid the price,” said Richard Cockerill, the Leicester director of rugby.
Quins remain in the bottom half but are within a point of Leicester and on course for another top-four finish. “We sat down as a group a few weeks ago because we were not playing any rugby in our own half and were just like other Premiership sides,” Easter said. “That is not what we are about: we like to threaten and we have to kick on from this.”
Harlequins Brown; Yarde, Hopper, Lowe, Monye (Williams, 32); Botica (Swiel, 70), Care; Marler (capt; Marfo, 74), Gray (Buchanan, 65), Sinckler (Collier, 61), Matthews, Robson (Twomey, 76), Clifford (Trayfoot, 76), Robshaw, Easter.
Tries Care, Clifford, Yarde, Swiel. Cons Botica 3. Pens Botica 2.
Leicester Tait; Thompstone (Bai, 65), Goneva, Allen, Benjamin; Williams (Burns, 66), B Youngs (Harrison, 62); Ayerza (Rizzo, 62), T Youngs (Ghiraldini, 62), Balmain (Mulipola, 55), Kitchener (De Chaves, 74), Parling, Croft (Gibson, 55), Salvi, Crane.
Pens Williams 4.
Referee L Pearce. Att 14,800.
