sport news Ex-Worcester assistant Nick Easter admits his 'anger and resentment' at the ... trends now
Nick Easter's mission to nurture local heroes has finally begun in earnest, after five weeks of delays and disruption caused by a winter freeze, train strikes and pre-booked festive holidays.
Last night, when Chinnor RFC hosted Rosslyn Park at their ground outside Thame in Oxfordshire, it marked the belated launch of a new era under a high-profile director of rugby.
The former England No 8, who was abruptly made redundant by the collapse of Worcester, agreed to take charge at the National League One club on December 1, but had been limited to planning, admin duties, gym sessions and passing drills in a marquee, until Tuesday this week.
Ex-Worcester assistant Nick Easter has admitted his 'anger and resentment' at the club's owners has gone after being made redundant
The former England international has now embarked on a career change, taking charge of National League One side Chinnor
Having been alerted to the job opportunity in the third tier of English rugby by former Harlequins team-mate Jordan Turner-Hall, Easter is evidently enthused by this unexpected career move.
'I'd heard of Chinnor, but I didn't really know where it was,' he said. 'Jordan said the director of rugby had left and they were struggling, but had plenty of first-team talent and potential, so I said, "Okay mate, put my name forward".'
Club president Simon Vickers called to explain more about the club and the role, and Easter agreed to join until the end of this season.
The broad remit appealed; overseeing the forwards and defence, recruitment and re-signings, as well as helping with fund-raising, marketing and events planning. Then came the hold-ups.
'They went away to Hull on the Saturday but I wasn't there because I had previous engagements,' he said. 'The next week, it was meant to be my first game but because of the freezing weather both training sessions then the match were called off.
The former England No 8 admitted that he had heard of Chinnor but didn't actually know where it was
'I addressed the squad but we couldn't do much. We went in the gym, then we laid some crash mats in the marquee and did a bit of handling in there - very low-key stuff.
'That Saturday was called off, then the following week too. I thought, "We'll get a training session in before Christmas and then we might get one before New Year", but they'd all booked holidays so I just said, "Go on then, take the two weeks off!".
'They came in on Tuesday this week and it was our first full training session. The weather was awful, but at least we could get 30 people out there and actually do some stuff. The front five might have put on a few pounds over Christmas, but mostly they came back in pretty good nick.
'Our S&C (strength & conditioning) guy Darren Oliver sends them their programmes and whether they do it is up to them. It's their choice, but they'll soon get found out if they don't and I'm the one who'll be all over them because as much as it's not their job, they've still got a job to do.'
Temporarily exiled from the professional game, Easter - who coached the amateurs at Wimbledon RFC during his final years as a Quins player - is relishing the different demands of preparing a team for whom rugby is not their job, it is just their passion. He has a diverse squad at his disposal.
Easter played for Harlequins most of his career for a total of 12 years before moving into coaching
'There are a few who haven't been able to turn up because of the train strikes, who work in the City,' he
