Easter eager to compile dossiers on Gallagher Premiership opponents as Newcastle tread water
Nick Easter is a veteran of 15 seasons as a player but he is facing a unique new Gallagher Premiership challenge as Newcastle’s defence coach following their return to the top flight of English rugby.
Easter will use the coaching experience he gained with the Sharks in Super Rugby to help Dean Richards, the Falcons director of rugby, prepare for next season which may not start until mid-way through November. That means an unprecedented four months build-up for Easter and his new club and the chance to run the rule over opposition who have yet to complete the current, pandemic interrupted season.
The Premiership season restarts on August 14 with his former club Harlequins taking on second-placed Sale Sharks and there are still nine rounds of regular season matches plus the playoffs to complete. That means Easter and the Falcons, who have gained promotion from the Championship, are going to have plenty of material on next season’s opponents as the plot their campaign.
He told RugbyPass: “We will be able to watch the remaining Premiership games of this season with an analytical eye and see the current trends without the pressure of week in week out preparation for games. It will be a more relaxed forum with an eye on taking advantage of what you see about teams and individuals. It should provide more intelligence and dossiers on what is going on in the game and the opponents. It will be of real benefit.”
The former England captain who led his country to the Six Nations title in 2011, played under Richards at Harlequins during his career which won him 54 caps and made a record 281 appearances for the club. However, Easter has never experienced a pre-season like the one Falcons are undertaking. The 41-year-old is currently in Portugal, will have to self-isolate with his young family for two weeks and then report for duty in the North East.
Easter, who took over the defence role at Quins after retiring in 2016, spent two years coaching in South Africa with the Sharks’ Super Rugby and Currie Cup teams and jumped at the chance to join Richards at the Falcons. He explained: “Working with Dean was a big factor and he is a true rugby guy and I owe a lot to him in terms of my own playing career and how quickly I played for England after he joined Quins. I have always kept in touch with Dean and he is direct and loyal and he is not a bureaucrat.
“He rang me just before we left for Portugal and asked what I was up to and I had been doing some consultancy but COVID-19 ended that and I was waiting for the right opportunity to get back into coaching. He then phoned a week later and asked how I fancied it (the Newcastle job). It is important that you have a good boss who can build a culture and get the best out of each other with high standards. He is one of the best in the business, has been at the very top with Leicester and Harlequins and also went through that fateful time (Bloodgate) and got Newcastle into the top four and then up from the Championship a couple of times.
“He is a guy who doesn’t get flustered, looks at the bigger picture and throws a few curveballs in there to keep you on your toes. I have spoken to Dean and Dave Walder and the idea is to get cracking with the rugby by the end of August which is earlier than it would normally start in a pre-season period. We have to look at it as a blessing and benefit and the first competitive game of next season is looking to be around November 21 and we can use this period to bed in systems, ideals and philosophies while getting to know the squad. It also allows a lot more time to play pre-season friendly matches.”
Easter is already equipped to provide information on Sale Sharks who boast key members of the Super Rugby Sharks squad that he worked with in Durban including the three du Preez brothers Rob, Dan and Jean-Luc. “The Premiership is a very physical and attrition league and they have put a very physical squad together with all the Sharks boys plus Manu Tuilagi joining: “ added Easter. “We know it is a collision game and about the gain line and you want to make it as simple as possible. They had a good win at Exeter before lockdown.
“Toby Flood is at Newcastle and I played a lot of games with him and he is a North East boy. He is a senior figure and there is a lot of talent in the North of England which I don’t think necessarily gets recognised as quite as quickly and part of my job is to grow rugby, talent spot and also push players who have the potential for international honours. Mark Wilson was banging on the England door for a couple of season before they realised how important he was.”
Comments on RugbyPass
We had during the week twilight footy, twilight cricket, tw golf plus there was the athletics club. Then the weekend was rugby 15s plus the net ball, really busy club scene back then but so much has changed and rugby has suffered. And it was all about changing lifestyles.
6 Go to commentsIn the 70s and 80s my club ran 5 Senior sides plus a Vets. Now it is 2 sides with an occasional 3rd team. Players have difficulty getitng to training now, not sure why and the commitment is not there. It seems to me more a problem of people applying themselves and not expecting to turn up and play whenever they want to.
6 Go to commentsROG’s contract is until 2027. The conversation about a successor to Galthie after RWC 2027 may be starting now. We can infer that Galthie’s reign stops then. He is throwing the Irish Coaching Job angle in because he is Irish. The next Irish coach MUST be Leo Cullen. As well as being the best coach available, coaching the vast majority of Irish Internationals week in week out, he has shown incredible skill at recruiting the best coaching staff for the job in hand. That was a failing in France. Cullen is a shrewd guy and if there is a need for foreign coaches underneath him he won’t hesitate. Rightly so. Ireland does need to start to bring Irish coaches through. Not just at the professional level but we need to train coaches to man new pathways for developing kids from schools/clubs up through the divisions.
7 Go to commentsNo Islam says it must rule where it stands Thus it is to be deleted from this planet Earth
18 Go to commentsThis team probably does not beat the ABs sadly Not sure if BPA will be available given his signing for Force but has to enter consideration. Very strong possibility of getting schooled by the AB props. Advantage AB. Rodda/Skelton would be a tasty locking combination - would love to see how they get on. Advantage Wallabies. Backrow a risk of getting out hustled and outmuscled by ABs. Will be interesting to see if the Blues feast on the Reds this weekend the way they did the Brumbies we are in big trouble at the breakdown. Great energy, running and defence but goalkicking/general kicking/passing quality in the halves bothers me enormously. SA may have won the World Cup for a lot of the tournament without a recognised goalkicker but Pollard in the final made a difference IMO. Injuries and retirements leave AB stocks a bit lighter but still stronger. 12 and 13 ABs shade it (Barret > Paisami, Ione = Ikitau, arguably) Interesting clash of styles on the wings - Corey Toole running around Caleb Clark and Caleb running over the top of Toole. Reece vs Koro probably the reverse. Pretty even IMO. 15s Kelleway = Love See advantage to ABs man for man, but we are not obviously getting slaughtered anywhere which makes a nice change. Think talent wise we are pretty even and if our cohesion and teamwork is better than the ABs then its just about doable.
11 Go to commentsCompletely agree. More friday night games would be a hit. RFU to make sure every club has a floodlit pitch. Club opens again Saturday to welcome touch / tag. Minis and youths on Sunday
6 Go to comments1.97m and 105Kg? Proportionately, probably skinnier than me at 1.82 and 82kilos. He won’t survive against the big guys at that weight.
55 Go to commentsThe value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
7 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
11 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
54 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
11 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to commentsTo me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
54 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
7 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
54 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
55 Go to commentsNot too bad. Questions at 6, lock and HB for me. The ABs will be a lot stronger once Jordan and Roigard return. Also, work needs to be made to secure Frizzell back for next season and maybe also Mo’unga; they’re just wasting time playing in japan
54 Go to commentsOn the title, i wonder for many of those people it is a case something like a belief in working smarter, not harder?
1 Go to commentsForget Sotutu. One of those whose top level is Super Rugby. Id take a punt on Wallace Sititi Finau ahead of Glass body Blackadder.
54 Go to comments