Captain Scarlet shows the way

Last October, in a Heineken Cup pool match in Toulouse, Easterby caught a stray knee in the face at a breakdown and was forced to leave the pitch with his face covered in blood. The concern in the Llanelli ranks intensified when a medical examination revealed that his nasal bone had been forced upwards into his skull. Fortunately, an emergency operation by the Toulouse club surgeon pulled the bone back down, and he was able to return home a couple of days later, even though he was subsequently out of action for over a month.

Easterby recovered in time to help Ireland win a Triple Crown in the Six Nations and see the Scarlets into the Anglo-Welsh Cup final against Wasps at Twickenham in April. However, during that final he was caught on the side of the head by the shoulder of Wasps full-back Mark van Gisbergen and was knocked out before he hit the ground. Dwayne Peel, the Scarlets scrum-half, later said that he screamed to the touchline for help because Easterby was in danger of swallowing his tongue. Peel’s quick thinking and the efficiency of the medical staff meant that an even more serious incident was avoided.

The severity of the concussion ruled Easterby out for the rest of the season, and also persuaded Ireland coach Eddie O’Sullivan to omit him for the summer tour to New Zealand and Australia. Yet, his outlook is to treat the setbacks as molehills rather than mountains: “I’ve been knocked out three times in nine years of rugby, so although it’s not pleasant it’s not a serial problem, and the scan showed there was no damage to my brain. I know I’m vulnerable at times because of the way I play, but it’s worse for my family watching than for me.”

The enforced rest gave him time for some restoration work, not only on his own battered countenance — he had an operation to sort out a jaw misalignment which resulted in a tooth snagging continuously on his lips — but also on the old barn which he had recently moved into with his wife, Sarra Elgan, who is a TV presenter with S4C and the daughter of former Wales wing Elgan Rees. There is, he says, another big plus. “

My wife is pregnant with our first baby, which wouldn’t have happened if I’d been away on tour.”

However, while his domestic life is blossoming, Easterby feels that the form of the Scarlets in his first two years as captain leaves much to be desired. If Llanelli have been in a trough, Easterby says things are about to change. “We’ve given away games too lightly, and our form on the road has been terrible,” he says. “We’ve got to be more hard-nosed up front, and we’ve got a few young guys coming through, like lock Lou Reed and hooker Ken Owens, who are not too respectful of the opposition. These guys are pushing up from below, which is good, because at times in the past selection has been too predictable. This squad is as strong as I’ve played with.”

The return of Wales fly-half Stephen Jones to Stradey Park, as well as the arrival of Phil Davies from Leeds to coach his old club following Gareth Jenkins’s appointment as Wales coach, are other major plusses according to Easterby. “In Stephen’s case we must not put too much pressure on one player, but he’s a massive player and his experience in France has made him even better.”

Although replacing a Stradey institution such as Jenkins is a huge job, Easterby says Davies’s timing has been impeccable: “Phil is bringing us out of our comfort zone, and Gareth would accept that it was probably time for a change.”

Easterby knows that Llanelli need everything to come together quickly if they are to realise their ambition of being the first Welsh side to become European club champions — and having played in two losing Heineken Cup semi-finals, he knows the territory.

Easterby says it is crucial that the Scarlets get off to a good start in the Magners League if they are to have a hope of scaling the Heineken Cup summit with sides of the calibre of Toulouse, Ulster and London Irish laying in wait, not to mention Sale, Newcastle and Harlequins looking to ambush them in the EDF Energy (Anglo-Welsh) Cup. “The league underpins the whole season, and any side that has won the Celtic League has won its first four or five matches,” says Easterby. “If we do that we could have quite an advantage because we finish with six home games.”

As for Europe, while being drawn in the same Heineken Cup pool as French giants Toulouse for the third year in succession doesn’t have Easterby jumping for joy, he says simply that qualification for the knock-out stages is essential. “We have yet to beat them but we’ve come close twice,” he says. “It’s about self-confidence and peaking at the right time in knockout rugby. If you look at Northampton and Bath winning the Heineken Cup, it’s maybe not about being the best side but the side which performs best in must-win games.”

Easterby believes that the ability of Llanelli’s players to rise to the occasion over the years comes from the club’s traditions. “It’s hard to explain what a hold Llanelli has on you, but it’s very rare that people leave of their own accord — they either have to or they retire,” he says. “When I joined the Scarlets from Leeds I wasn’t an international, or even an established player, so they have given me that opportunity. I am proud to captain a side of such tradition and history when I’m not Welsh. It is an honour to be among those names.”

Giving blood for that honour is common currency for a battler such as Easterby, but what he wants most is to repay his debt to the Scarlets in silverware.