English Rugby
Easter sets sights on England recall
ESPN Staff
September 24, 2012
Nick Easter eyes up the tackler, Newcastle Falcons v Harlequins, Aviva Premiership, Kingston Park, Newcastle, March 2, 2012
Nick Easter has started the 2012-13 season in sensational fashion © Getty Images
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Players/Officials: Nick Easter
Teams: England | Harlequins

Harlequins No.8 Nick Easter admits that he is keen on earning a recall to the England set-up but has revealed that he is yet to hear from boss Stuart Lancaster this season.

Easter was Harlequins' star of the show on Saturday in their match against the Leicester Tigers which sparked Quins boss Conor O'Shea to suggest that he is still the best No.8 in the country. Easter last turned out for England in the quarter-finals of the 2011 World Cup when they were coached by Martin Johnson.

Under Lancaster, Easter is out of the England set-up with the backroom staff focused on building towards the 2015 World Cup. They favour Gloucester's Ben Morgan at No.8 and it is likely that a series of injuries will have to occur if Easter is to force his way back into the reckoning.

But despite this, Easter believes he can still cut it on the international stage and add to his 47 caps. "People talk about age but as Mark Evans, our former chief executive, said, it's not the registration plate, it's the number of miles on the clock and I came late into professional rugby so I am not burnt out mentally and my body is in good nick," Easter told Standard Sport. "I am still hugely ambitious and I believe that I am still improving as a player.

"I am also enjoying the way we play; challenging the opposition and being unpredictable. Perhaps, in the past, we have tried to play the off-loading game but didn't have the mix to be able to scrum, maul and kick. Stuart [Lancaster] has not said anything to me this season and all I can do is just carry on and play rugby."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

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