Your average elite sportsperson, if there is such a thing, tends to come to prominence in their early 20s and be considered history in their early 30s.

There are exceptions. The one thing everyone knows about the pinnacle of Michael Owen’s career – that goal for England against Argentina in 1998 – was that he was 18 when he scored it.

At the other end of the spectrum, one of the things that made Sir Steven Redgrave’s fifth Olympic gold medal in 2000 so special was that he achieved it in such a physically demanding sport at the age of 38.

Which brings us to Nick Easter. The Harlequins number eight may have been a late starter, having waited until the age of 28 before he made his England debut, but he was cast adrift after the last of his 47 caps was won at the 2011 World Cup.

In fairness to Stuart Lancaster, even those who felt Easter had more to offer at that stage could not be too hostile towards a decision to omit him when he replaced Martin Johnson as coach.

Lancaster will ultimately be judged by England’s performance at this year’s World Cup and it was not an unfair assumption then to think that Easter would no longer be in contention.

However, Easter has proved him wrong in the most emphatic fashion and, in the wake of Ben Morgan’s broken leg, the reasons not to give the former Rosslyn Park man a recall are disappearing.

He was man of the match in last weekend’s victory over Leicester, in front of England coach Graham Rowntree, but Easter’s claims are based on momentous performances over a number of years.

That other great former England number eight Lawrence Dallaglio has joined Quins director of rugby Conor O’Shea in backing Easter’s credentials and the closer to the World Cup we get, the stronger his case will become.

Questions about his age need to be put to one side. If Easter is the best option now, the chances are he will still be the best option when England open their World Cup against Fiji at Twickenham on September 18.