UPDATED:
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
As tributes flow in for Pirates stalwart Col Easter, the club he was so passionate about will remember him on Saturday with a minute’s silence before the kick-off of their Central North first and second grade clashes with Tamworth.
The players will also wear black armbands for the clash against their cross-town rivals.
The derby was always a game Easter looked forward to.
“The only time he really got emotional was before the local derby during his coaching years,” second grade co-coach Paul Newell recalled.
“He would let everyone know in no uncertain terms what he thought about the team we were playing.”
Newell coached with Easter “for about four years”, reigniting a partnership that first started on the field back in the 80s.
“I was lucky enough to play with Col for a fair few years,” he said.
“He was a tough competitor.
“He really loved his rugby and loved the contest.”
Playing in the front-row, Easter was the 26th Pirates player to reach the 100-game milestone.
As a coach, Newell said Easter was great with the front-rowers, and “had a few tricks” for getting on top of someone who might have been a bit bigger.
Despite Easter having stepped back from the sidelines, Newell said the club still lent on him a fair bit for his front-row expertise.
“He was a great person,” he said.
“We’re hoping to get the right result for him in both grades (on Saturday).”
Pirates president Stuart Prowse said Easter’s death has “really rocked a lot of people”.
“He was one of those guys that you would say is the fabric of the club,” Prowse said.
He described him as a “gentle giant” and spoke of the of the way he imparted on the young players coming through what being part of a club is about.
His son’s Josh and Matt also both played for the club.
“The really sad thing is where he was at in his life. He was really looking forward to moving on to the next chapter,” Prowe said.
He had only recently relocated to Queensland to be close to his family.
It was a double tragedy for the club this week following the passing of former Wallaby and Pirates coach Denis O’Callaghan.
O’Callaghan, who’s son Tim is a stalwart of the club, coached the Pirates’ first grade side in 1977 after a distinguished career that saw him tour with the Wallabies in 1966/67 and play first grade rugby league with St George.
THURSDAY:
Colin Easter loved the Pirates Rugby Club – but he loved his family more.
Easter, who played more than 100 games for the club and coached for many years there, watched his last Pirates match two weeks ago and relocated to Queensland to be close to his family.
“Colbags”, as he was affectionately known, died of a heart attack on Wednesday.
Pirates first grade coach Matt Kelly remembered a man who was instrumental in his development as a rugby player and as a person.
“He was a terrific clubman,” Kelly said. “I wouldn’t be involved with the Pirates without Col.
“He was a big part of a lot of our high school years and all the way through.”
“He was a tremendous family man,” Kelly added. “That can’t be understated.”
Kelly said Easter “absolutely loved” the Pirates and had a “special place” for the local derby against the Magpies.
On his former mentor’s move to Queensland, an emotional Kelly said: “It was very hard for him to say goodbye.”
In a post of their Facebook page, the Pirates said they were “shattered” by the news.
The Pirates said they had lost “one of our greatest clubmen”.
The club said Easter coached junior and senior grades, hanging up the clipboard only last year after helping take the reserve grade side to the grand final.
“He has had such a huge influence on all of our lives, and without his guidance a lot of our players, both past and present, wouldn't have grown up to be the men that they are today,” the club said.
“Not only will he be remembered as a club legend but he will also be remembered for teaching us all how to love the game of rugby, love the people you play with and love the jersey you play in.
“Until we meet again ‘Colbags’.”