A durable and forthright flanker, SIMON EASTERBY is one of five players in the current Ireland set-up to have debuted against Scotland in February 2000.
Since then, the Llanelli Scarlets captain has racked up a further 56 Test caps – 51 of those as a starter. Born in Harrogate and educated at Ampleforth College, Easterby has become an ever-present in the Irish back row, playing in every single game of the 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007 Six Nations campaigns.
His seven-try Test haul includes a brace against the Pacific Islanders last November and a length-of-the-field score against Italy in this year's Six Nations.
Easterby was called up to the 2005 British & Irish Lions squad as a late replacement for the injured Lawrence Dallaglio, and marked his inclusion by scoring a try in the second Test defeat by New Zealand.
He was named as Ireland captain for the 2005 autumn internationals against the All Blacks and Australia.
The 32-year-old, who signed a three-year contract extension with the Scarlets recently, missed the 2006 summer tour due to injury but returned for the November internationals and played a big part in this year's Triple Crown success. He was a member of the 2006/07 Magners League Dream Team and also led the Scarlets to the Heineken Cup semi-finals last term.
