Nick Easter is halfway through his conversation when the former England number 8’s phone starts ringing. The logical assumption is that our chat is temporarily put on hold.
Chinnor president Simon Vickers is on the phone and wants to talk about signing new players for next season, now that the men known as ‘The Villagers’ will be playing in the Championship in 2024/2025 – the level below the Gallagher Premiership. Chinnor is an ambitious club on the rise. Easter is in charge and talks about the success of his party’s National One promotion.
“Don’t worry, it’s not a scheduled conversation, so we’ll ignore it,” he says, smiling, pressing red instead of green and continuing the discussion. Easter, now 45, is a man used to being in high demand.
He is constantly busy as he tries to guide Chinnor to the top of England’s rugby pyramid, in addition to coaching the United States ahead of the 2031 World Cup.
“Sometimes there aren’t enough hours in the day,” Easter says. ‘But I like to be busy. I loved my playing career and I loved getting into coaching. I never lost my passion for the game.
Nick Easter is constantly busy: leading Chinnor to promotion, coaching the USA, taking calls… and smoking cigars
He has not lost his passion for rugby and has led Minnows Chinnor to the Championship
“After winning promotion at Moseley last weekend, it came a bit late. The boys celebrated and I joined in! I think I went to bed at 3am, but I missed Sunday’s session.
‘For my nephew’s first birthday I had to go to my in-laws. Instead I raised a glass of champagne there!’
Easter was a powerful force in his playing career winning 54 England caps and making 281 appearances for Harlequins. Easter immediately transitioned into a coaching career with the London club after his retirement.
In 2022 he was at Worcester as the Warriors became the first of three now former Premier League clubs to fall into financial oblivion. Like everyone at Sixways, Easter lost his job on the spot.
So, where should you go? National One club Chinnor, who play in the third tier of English rugby, may not have seemed the most obvious location. But it was where Easter went as director of rugby.
Last weekend the Thame club defeated Moseley 52-0 to seal the league title and a place in the Championship for next season. Easter has brought about a remarkable turnaround.
“You can’t always look back on the past, but I sometimes wonder what would have been if we had been allowed to continue at Worcester under Steve Diamond,” says Easter.
‘We were going in the right direction and had some good young players, combined with some experienced players. With another recruiting season, you don’t know what would have happened.
“Now the coaches we had in Worcester are everywhere. Dimes is at Newcastle, I’m at Chinnor and USA, and Stevie Scott is at Bath.’
Easter, who lit a celebratory cigar with his champagne after Chinnor’s latest victory, continued: ‘I joined Chinnor on December 1, 2022 and I really enjoyed it.
The ex-England No.8 says there are not enough hours in the day to do what he wants to do
He coached at Harlequins and Worcester after his career and now passes on his knowledge at a lower level
‘Since Worcester I’d done a bit of coaching at Cheltenham College and a few masterclasses, but it was great for me to be coaching regularly and at a good level again.
“Chinnor works part-time but when I joined it was an attractive proposition because they had won two games out of eleven. I took over as director of rugby and had to learn new skills.
‘It wasn’t just me, but I soon realized that I was the man in charge of the ship and if it sank I would have known it was me and my methods! The buck stops with me.
‘It was a great challenge to get the team out of the relegation zone. When I got there, they were underperforming. It went pretty well.”
The Chinnor ship certainly did not sink with Easter at the helm. In fact, the club has sailed quietly through carefree waters this season and now the club is dreaming of even better things to come.
Chinnor’s average win in National One this season was 40-15. They have won 21 of 25 league games and scored almost 1,000 points. It has been a remarkable campaign.
“We have stayed true to certain non-negotiables around training,” Easter says.
‘I’ve spent most of my coaching career with professionals and we’ve brought a level of professional detail to fitness and tactics without over-complicating anything.
Working with a part-time club has been another challenge, but he has brought an ‘intensity to training that the boys weren’t used to’
‘We brought an intensity to the training that the boys were not used to. There was no reason why we couldn’t be the strongest team in the league. With a full preseason and a bit of recruiting, I’d say that was definitely the case. The work of the players is phenomenal as they are part-time and all have jobs.
‘I can compare it with full-time teams. These guys really did it. It will take time in the championship. Going from National One to the second level is a big jump in terms of physicality, which can have an impact on the players. That goes a level higher when you go to the Eredivisie. We have to be ready to probably see a few more injuries next season.
‘We are therefore going to invest in our strength, fitness and medical teams. We need a doctor. These are all things we’re talking about right now. We will have to sign a few players and contracts will have to be made, but we want to reward the players who got us promoted.
‘Maybe I should have answered the phone when Simon called! I’ve played and coached at the highest level and that’s where I want to go, but I love working with Chinnor and the USA.
‘It’s a nice balance.’
It is also unusual. There aren’t many coaches who work at two such contrasting levels. But Easter’s job at Chinnor is in addition to his other duties as the Eagles’ forward and defense chief.
After failing to qualify for the 2023 World Cup, the United States is entering a new era after former player Scott Lawrence succeeded Gary Gold as head coach. The United States will be rugby’s global showpiece by 2031 as the game remains desperate for the American dream.
‘The US has the right man in charge. Scott knows the country’s rugby system and has a solid footing – that’s crucial,” Easter said.
“Scott knows what it takes and understands American rugby. Combining my two roles does make me miss the Chinnor games, but I look at that in a positive way. Working with international players will help me improve my coaching and that in turn should make Chinnor a better team.
He will balance Chinnor’s new challenge with big ambitions in the US. Despite not making it to the 2023 World Cup, they are preparing to host the 2031 tournament
‘In November we had a three-match tour of Europe, with wins over Romania, Brazil and Spain. We were expected to win those games, but you still have to do it.
“A lot has changed in US rugby since they failed to qualify for the World Cup last year. There is a lot to do in terms of improving the team and increasing the popularity of the sport for 2031.
“One thing that is important is playing home games. You can’t grow the game in a country if you don’t play there and the US hasn’t played a home game in a long time.
‘That will change this summer. We have Romania and Scotland in the US in July and those will be fantastic games to see our development.
“There is a lot of work going on behind the scenes with 2031 in mind, involving World Rugby and the relevant gaming authorities. It’s very exciting.’