Easter: From playing field to coaching booth
Easter (37), has retired as player to take up a full-time coaching job at Harlequins.
He won 54 England caps and played 281 times for Quins, more than any other player in the professional era.
He played in three World Cups and helped Premiership side win their first Premiership title in 2012.
He went on to help England reach the Final of that year's World Cup, where they were beaten by South Africa in Paris.
"After [at first] accepting the opportunity of being a player-coach, I took some time to think about my career," Eastern said.
"I realised that whether I'm playing or coaching, there was no possible way that I would be able to give 100 percent to both of my roles at the same time," he added.
"I thought, why not grab the opportunity of becoming a coach with both hands, give it my best shot and feel privileged to be in a position to go out on my own terms after 12 great years as a player for Harlequins.
"I'm a few weeks into my role now and I'm thoroughly enjoying it. Having had five weeks in the off-season to finalise it and four weeks now as a coach, I don't regret my decision and I can't wait for the new season to begin."
Easter has called time on his playing career after joining the club from Orrell in 2004 – making him Quins' most capped professional player.
After a lengthy international absence, Easter was recalled by England for last year's Six Nations and was then summoned into Stuart Lancaster's World Cup squad as an injury replacement for Billy Vunipola.
The former number 8 has had a sterling career and the Club is privileged to be able to continue to rely on his expert rugby brain.
"Nick has been an unbelievable servant to the Quins team for over a decade," said John Kingston, Harlequins Director of Rugby.
"He has been at the very heartbeat of all the successes the side has achieved over this period.
"While a Quins team without Nick at the helm may seem strange at first, his influence on the group will, if anything, be even greater in his new role as first XV defence coach."
