The ‘rugby student’ stepping up to lead Ireland

Men’s Six Nations: Ireland v England

Venue: Aviva Stadium Date: Saturday, 1 February Kick-off: 16: 45 GMT

One of Ken Owens’s first encounters with Simon Easterby is still vivid in his mind.

Owens was a fresh-faced Scarlets academy graduate in 2005, long before he became Wales’ captain and started the hooking for the British and Irish Lions.

By that time, Easterby was already the club’s captain, a well-known Ireland international, and a starting Lions back row. No better man, then, to introduce Owens to the intensity of the senior game.

In one of my first contact sessions, Owens recalls that I was jackalling in a ruck during a World Cup final.

“He was competitive in everything he did, diligent, professional. It hurt for me. He was the go-to man.

Twenty years on, Easterby is still leading by example. The 49-year-old will take over Ireland for the first time after being appointed interim head coach while Andy Farrell is the team’s second-choice for the British and Irish Lions.

His playing and coaching career thus far establishes a man who won’t be overawed by the prospect of entering Farrell’s shoes.

Born in Yorkshire, Easterby comes from a sporting family. His mother, Katherine, was an Irish hockey international from Blackrock in Dublin while his father, Henry, was related to the Easterby horseracing dynasty from Yorkshire.

He was educated at Ampleforth College, a prestigious Catholic boarding school in North Yorkshire. It was there that, despite a love of cricket, Easterby set a course towards a career in rugby.

Before moving to Llanelli in 1999, Easterby spent some time in Australia playing for Harrogate, Guy, another future Irish international, and Leeds.

He was struck repeatedly by an Achilles rupture and a broken nose before being knocked out cold in the 2006 Powergen Cup final after colliding with London Wasps full-back Mark van Gisbergen. He also suffered more knocks to his fair share of knocks.

Owens saw in Easterby a tough-as-nails leader and a man destined for a successful coaching career while playing alongside him.

Owens, who retired in 2024 after a career that earned 91 Wales caps and five Lions Test appearances, said, “He always spoke and communicated well. He had the aggression that came naturally to him.”

” He understood rugby. How well-versed in the line-out and how you turned the ball over when playing in the contact area.

Easterby not only forged a respectable career in green, but he also became a legend in Welsh club rugby.

Having turned down Clive Woodward’s invitation to play for England, he chose Ireland. He won 65 caps, and by the time he announced his retirement on St Patrick’s Day in 2008, he was the country’s most-capped flanker.

He made his debut against Scotland in the 2000 Six Nations, one of five new faces – alongside Ronan O’Gara, Peter Stringer, Shane Horgan and John Hayes – introduced by Ireland boss Warren Gatland in a shake-up after a 50-18 thumping by England.

Easterby played the full game, which Ireland won 44-22, and was retained at blind-side flanker for the remainder of the championship.

He wasn’t always a guaranteed starter, though. At the 2003 World Cup in Australia, he was on the fringes of Eddie O’Sullivan’s side, but became a success story in an otherwise familiar tale of Irish woe that ended in a quarter-final exit.

From there, Easterby became one of O’Sullivan’s most trusted on-field lieutenants.

“He was a physical and powerful athlete, as you’d expect from a back row, but you could see he was one of the smarter ones”, says Chris Henry, one of Easterby’s successors in the Irish back row.

“He was part of that class back-row era with Denis Leamy, David Wallace and Neil Best”.

Due to the injuries to Brian O’Driscoll and Paul O’Connell, O’Sullivan gave him the captaincy for the 2005 autumn series two years after the World Cup.

He joined Ireland in 2014 as the forwards coach under Joe Schmidt, and he has been a fixture there ever since. Six years after his Test retirement.

He coaches how he played: with professionalism, efficiency and attention to detail.

With only 13 tries conceded in their back-to-back title victories, his rugby intelligence has enabled Ireland to establish a defense on which they have built their Six Nations dominance.

And he “does a team without shouting and roaring,” according to Henry, who previously worked for him at Ulster before Dan McFarland became head coach in 2018.

“He was very controlled, calm. It was always clear, concise messages”, said Henry.

“With Ireland, I always thought his emotional intelligence was very good. He was aware of the right things to say]when you weren’t selected]. He would always give you extra time, like when I wanted to do line-out work.

Easterby has since been thrust into the spotlight after completing a lengthy apprenticeship with the backroom team.

He named his first team on Thursday, and while he was confidently answering questions from Aviva Stadium reporters, he pinpointed where he believes his coaching skills have improved.

As a young coach and head coach, he said, “You try to do everything and every aspect of the game, and you end up not being able to see the wood for the trees,” he said.

” It’s all-consuming, but over a period of time you realise what you can do and what you can share with other coaches. You get a sense of what players are going through, how you can help them, and how you can help them.

“Yes, there are always technical and tactical issues you want to keep strong on your side, but I believe it is the conversations you have with players and the chats you have over time that give you a sense of that player.

” Then, hopefully, you can get the best out of them whether they are starting, on the bench or not involved at all. “