England
Ask Steven: Is Nick Easter England's oldest Test player?
John Griffiths
April 6, 2015
Nick Easter moves away from Dave Attwood during the England training session held at Pennyhill Park
Nick Easter moves away from Dave Attwood during the England training session held at Pennyhill Park© David Rogers/Getty Images

Is Nick Easter England's oldest Test player? Rob Parker, England

The Harlequins No 8 was 36 years and 218 days old when he appeared as a substitute for England in their recent Six Nations match against France.

Three England players, however, won their last caps after celebrating their 37th birthdays. Fred Gilbert, a Devon full-back, was in his 40th year when he played in a 23-5 win against Ireland at Leicester in 1923. He was injured playing for the Navy against the Army at Twickenham a couple of weeks later and never appeared for England again. Recent research has shown that he was born on 30th December 1883.

Simon Shaw had passed his 38th birthday when he played his last Test for England at the 2011 RWC while Eric Evans, the oldest player to captain England, was 37 when he made his final Test appearance against Scotland at Murrayfield in March 1958.

Evans was a fitness fanatic who trained with Manchester United's famous "Busby Babes" in the 1950s. He was shy about his age, however, and match programmes always showed his year of birth as 1925 instead of 1921.

The three oldest England Test players were:

Fred Gilbert 39 years 42 days v Ireland in 1923

Simon Shaw 38 years 37 days v France in 2011

Eric Evans 37 years 42 days v Scotland in 1958

© John Griffiths

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