Easter determined to prove a point in battle of No 8s

AHEAD of the mouth-watering clash between Harlequins and Leinster in Sunday’s Heineken Cup quarter-final, Lions head coach Ian McGeechan is likely to have his beady eye drawn inexorably towards an intriguing individual match-up — that of the No 8s, Nick Easter and Jamie Heaslip.

First-choice for their respective countries, Harlequins forward Easter and Ireland star Heaslip are strong contenders to board the plane to South Africa in May, and one last chance to pit their wits against each other should offer an interesting insight as to who may line up against the Springboks in Durban on June 20 — although Wales captain Ryan Jones is sure to have his say. It is a point that Easter is well aware of. The 30-year-old, a relatively late bloomer, came out of England’s Six Nations campaign in credit, starting every one of their five games.

But he admits that one match in which he failed to impress was at Croke Park, where Heaslip, 25, got the better of him. And it is clear the memory of their encounter, and the 14-13 defeat as Ireland marched on towards the Grand Slam, still rankles.