England v Samoa, Twickenham, November 20
Easter vows to lead by example
ESPNscrum Staff
November 19, 2010
England No.8 Nick Easter powers through a tackle, England v Australia, Twickenham, London, England, November 13, 2010
Nick Easter captains England against Samoa © Getty Images
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Nick Easter plans on leading by example when England take on Samoa at Twickenham on Saturday.

The Harlequins No.8 will captain his country for the first time in a Test match - having led them against the Barbarians on two occasions - after the decision was taken to rest Lewis Moody and he intends to follow up last weekend's thrilling win over Australia with another big showing.

"This is the biggest honour in the game. I am extremely proud and pleased to captain my country," he said. "It is a hell of a challenge captaining in a Test as opposed to a Barbarians game but this England side is all about improving, it is about the next performance.

"We give a lot of respect to Samoa. They have some fantastic players and you see that in the Premiership. We have got to make sure we improve on last week's performance. It is about having the right attitude. It can be easy to get up for some games and not others - but when you are playing for your country it should not be a problem.

"I will make a few key points and lead by example. When you are playing for your country, you are playing in a Test match."

Easter's path to the England captaincy, via stints at Rosslyn Park and Orrell, was an old-fashioned one, but the back-rower is now concentrating only on the future.

"I probably have more realisation about what it means in the grander scheme of life - but you can't let that get to you," he said. "We have a job to do and that is to win a rugby match. That is my sole aim, whether I am captain or not. As captain I will have a little bit more influence on the pitch and that is all I will concentrate on."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

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