Nick Easter: When you start thinking of retirement, you’re ready to retire

Not many players are fortunate enough to retire on their own terms – and knowing when to do it can be challenging – but Nick Easter admits he took the decision to hang up his boots the moment the thought entered his mind last season.
The 37-year-old was due to begin a new coaching chapter at Quins under John Kingston while also playing. However, soon after pre-season started, the No.8 decided to pull the plug and call a day on an astonishing playing career that saw him become the most capped Harlequins player with 281 appearances across 20,627 minutes, as well as winning 54 Test caps for England.
Another season was a possibility with his body in good shape, but the drive to play at the highest level was not there anymore.
“From a job point of view I couldn’t play and coach at the same time to the best of my ability so that was unfair on me and the club,” he told The Rugby Paper.
“Then it comes down to which I wanted to do more. I’d have loved to continue playing but I was honest with myself and, from February onward last season, I didn’t have the drive mentally to play at this level every week.
“I was probably up for two or three games in that period and I don’t think that’s right. Physically I could have played for another year because my body feels fine but I wouldn’t have enjoyed it as much.
“Not being able to play at the level I once was would have been hard, too. So I started to thinking about when I should retire and to be honest, when you think about retiring you’re ready to retire.
“I was given a great opportunity to coach at a club I was familiar with so I decided to grab it with both hands. With John taking over and building his staff it felt like the right time to do it. Who knows if the opportunity would have been there next season.”
Starting his professional career at the unusual age of 21 with Orrell, Easter admits he never thought he’d reach such heights. But it all changed when he joined Quins in 2004. He added: “I’ve had a good run and I never thought I’d have such a career when I started. You always want to represent your country but deep down I was wondering if I was on the right pathway at that age.
“I then joined Harlequins hoping to become a starting player for them and it took off after that. I ended up having a successful career for club and country.
“Winning the Premiership in 2012 is the highlight of my career at the club. The game we got relegated against Sale is pretty special, too. We couldn’t get the job done but the emotion at the stadium that day still sends goosebumps down my neck.
“The European away trips in France were pretty special, too. To play against French opposition was very challenging but we’d always have a good night afterwards – they’ll be even better as a coach now because I’ll get two nights to enjoy myself.”
So after 15 glorious years as a player, it is time for Easter, left, to embark on the next chapter of his career as defence coach at Quins.
Helping his former teammates rediscover their mojo is his first task and then, he says, the sky’s the limit.
He added: “Defence is an area where we didn’t perform as well as we’d have liked so it’s up to me now to make sure the boys have the right attitude in defence and they understand the system.
“We have some very good defenders individually but it’s about working as a collective. We changed our system in defence last year but I don’t think there was a full understanding of it. So that’s the first thing we have to do before we ramp it up.
“We’re having to rebuild a bit after losing what we are about in recent seasons but with the talent we have it shouldn’t take too long for us to be back in the top half of the table and, most importantly, to the Champions Cup.”
NICK VERDIER