England legend Nick Easter celebrates Chinnor Village minnows’ promotion to championship… while coaching the USA national team!

Nick Easter is midway through his conversation when the former England number 8’s phone starts ringing. The logical assumption is that our conversation will be temporarily suspended.

Chinnor chairman Simon Vickers is on the line and wants to talk about signing new players for next season. The men known as ‘The Villagers’ will play in the Championship – the tier below the Gallagher Premiership – in 2024/25. Chinnor is an ambitious club on the rise. Easter is the man in charge and talks about his team’s National One promotion success.

“Don’t worry, it’s not a scheduled call, so we’ll ignore it,” he says with a smile, pressing red instead of green and continuing the discussion. Easter, now 45, is a man used to being asked.

He is constantly busy as he attempts to guide Chinnor up the English rugby pyramid while also coaching with the United States before they host the 2031 World Cup.

“Sometimes there aren’t enough hours in the day,” Easter says. “But I like to be busy. I loved my playing career and I loved becoming a coach. I never lost my passion for the game.

He did not lose his passion for rugby and led minnows Chinnor to the championship.

“After winning promotion at Moseley last weekend, it was a bit late. The guys had a party and I joined them! I think I went to bed at 3am but missed the Sunday session.

“I had to go to my in-laws for my nephew’s first birthday. I raised a glass of champagne instead!

A power forward in his playing career who won 54 England caps and made 281 appearances for Harlequins, Easter immediately embarked on a coaching career with the London club upon retirement.

In 2022, he was working at Worcester when the Warriors became the first of three former Premiership clubs to enter financial oblivion. Like everyone else at Sixways, Easter lost his job instantly.

So, who to turn to? Chinnor, the National One team, which competes in the third tier of English rugby, may not have seemed the most obvious location. But that’s where Easter headed as director of rugby.

Last weekend the Thame-based club beat Moseley 52-0 to seal the league title and a league place for next season. Easter brought a remarkable turnaround.

“You can’t always go back, but I sometimes wonder what might have happened if we had been allowed to continue under Steve Diamond at Worcester,” Easter says.

“We were going in the right direction and had good young players combined with experienced players. With another recruiting season, you don’t know what would have happened.

“Now the coaches we had at Worcester are everywhere. Dimes is in Newcastle, I’m with Chinnor and the USA, and Stevie Scott is in Bath.

Easter, who lit a celebratory cigar to accompany his champagne after Chinnor’s latest victory, continued: “I joined Chinnor on December 1, 2022 and really enjoyed it.

Former England number 8 says there aren’t enough hours in the day to do what he wants to do

He coached Harlequins and Worcester after his career and is now transferring his knowledge to a lower level.

“Since Worcester I had done a bit of coaching at Cheltenham College and a few masterclasses, but it was great for me to get back into coaching regularly and at a good level.

“Chinnor works part-time, but when I joined them it was an attractive proposition because they had won two games out of 11. I took over rugby management and had to learn new skills.

“It wasn’t all because of me, but I quickly realized that I was the man in charge of the ship and that if it went down, I would have known it was because of me and my methods! The responsibility lies with me.

“It was a good challenge to get the team out of the relegation zone. They were underperforming when I got there. It went pretty well.

The Chinnor ship certainly did not sink with Easter at the helm. Indeed, he has navigated calmly in calm waters this season and the club is now dreaming of even better things.

Chinnor’s average win in National One this season has been 40-15. They have won 21 of 25 league matches and have scored almost 1,000 points. It was a remarkable campaign.

“We stuck to some non-negotiables about training,” Easter says.

“I have spent most of my coaching career with professionals and we have brought a professional level of detail around fitness and tactics without overcomplicating anything.

Working with a part-time club was a different challenge, but he brought an “intensity to training that the guys weren’t used to.”

“We brought an intensity to practice that the guys weren’t used to. There was no reason why we couldn’t be the fittest team in the league. With a full preseason and a bit of recruiting, I would say we definitely were. The work of the players has been phenomenal considering they work part-time and they all have jobs.

“I can compare it to full-time teams. These guys really pulled out all the stops. It will take time in the Championship. Going from National One to the second tier is a big jump in terms of physicality which can have an impact on players. It goes up another level when you get to the Premiership. We have to be prepared to probably see a few more injuries next season.

“As a result, we will invest in our strength, conditioning and medical teams. We’ll need a doctor. These are all things we are discussing right now. We will have to sign some players and there will be contracts to conclude, but we want to reward the players who promoted us.

“Maybe I should have picked up the phone when Simon called!” I’ve played and coached at the highest level and that’s where I want to be, but I love working with Chinnor and the United States.

“It’s a good balance.”

This is also an unusual situation. Few coaches work at two such contrasting levels. But Easter’s Chinnor position is in addition to his other position as a forward and leader of the Eagles’ defense.

After failing to qualify for the 2023 World Cup, the United States begins a new era after former player Scott Lawrence took over from Gary Gold as head coach. The United States will host the world rugby competition in 2031, as the sport desperately seeks to shatter the American dream.

“The United States has the right person in charge. Scott knows the country’s rugby system and has his feet on the pitch – that’s vitally important,” says Easter.

“Scott knows what is needed and understands American rugby. The combination of my two roles means I miss Chinnor games, but I look at it in a positive way. If I work with international players it helps me improve my training and it should make Chinnor a better team.

He will balance the new challenge of Chinnor with big ambitions in the United States. Although they failed to reach the 2023 World Cup, they are preparing to host the 2031 tournament.

“We had a three-match tour of Europe in November, including wins against Romania, Brazil and Spain. We were expected to win those games, but we still have to go.

“There have been a lot of changes in American rugby since they failed to qualify for last year’s World Cup. There is a lot to do to improve the team and increase popularity of sport by 2031.

“One important thing is playing home games. You can’t develop football in a country if you don’t play it and the United States hasn’t played a home game for a long time.

“That will change this summer. We have Romania and Scotland in the USA in July and they will be fantastic matches for us to continue our development.

“A lot of work is going on behind the scenes looking ahead to 2031, with World Rugby and the game’s authorities involved. It’s very exciting.’