Neil Antony Back (born January 16, 1969 in Coventry) is a former international rugby union footballer for England, who also played for Leicester Tigers. Do not change January 16 it preserves the date correctly formatted and stops robots from delinking it. ... 1969 (MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1969 calendar). ... The Precinct in Coventry city centre. ... General phase play in rugby union. ... England Rugby is the name of the English national rugby union team. ... Leicester Football Club (nicknamed Leicester Tigers) is an English rugby union club that plays in the Guinness Premiership. ...

During his international career, he gained 66 caps for England, captaining them four times and was part of the 2003 World Cup winning side. He played as an openside flanker. He is married with two daughters. The 2003 Rugby Union World Cup was the fifth world cup in rugby history. ... A rugby union team is made up of 15 players: eight forwards, numbered from 1 to 8; and seven backs, numbered from 9 to 15. ...

Biography

Back was educated at Woodlands School in Coventry, where he played football and cricket before opting for rugby union. He went on to represent England at U18, U21 and 'A' level before making his full England debut against Scotland in 1994. He also played for Nottingham. Nottingham is a city (and county town of Nottinghamshire) in the East Midlands of England. ...

Despite impressive performances, he was not selected for England regularly on the basis that he was too small - at only 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) and 14 stone (89 kg). Back's supporters claimed that his low body position helped his tackling, mobility and ability to snaffle the ball on the ground. In fitness tests, he was reputedly one of the fittest members of the England squad, and had an enormous workrate. The stone is a unit of mass in the Imperial system of weights and measures used in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and most Commonwealth countries. ...

His big break came on the 1997 British Lions tour to South Africa, where he was a replacement in the second decisive test. He subsequently became an important part of Clive Woodward's as a back-row unit with Richard Hill and Lawrence Dallaglio. He was also one of five Tigers players selected for the British Lions party to Australia in summer 2001. The 1997 British Lions tour to South Africa was the first after the end of apartheid in that country, and the first professional tour. ... Sir Clive Ronald Woodward, KBE (born 6 January 1956 at Ely in Cambridgeshire) is a former English rugby union international who was the coach of the England rugby union team from 1997 to 2004. ... Richard Hill (born 23 May 1973) is a rugby union footballer who plays at flanker for Saracens and England. ... Date of Birth: August 10, 1972 Place of Birth: Shepherds Bush, London Height: 1. ...

Back was a master of controlling the ball at the back of a rolling maul and in 1999 he was Leicester's top try scorer with 16 tries as Tigers often kicked penalties to touch for lineouts near to the opposition's try line, won the subsequent lineout and the pack drove Back over to score.

He scored in Leicester's 2001 Heineken Cup final in which they beat Stade Francais 34-30, and won the lineout which led to Austin Healey's break and Leon Lloyd's winning try. Stade Français CASG Paris is a French rugby union club that plays in the 16th arrondissement of Paris at Stade Jean-Bouin, across the road from Parc des Princes. ... 1958 Austin-Healey 100/6 Sports A 1960 Austin-Healey Sprite Austin-Healey was a brand of sports car. ... Leon David Lloyd (born 22 September 1977 in Coventry) is an English rugby union footballer who plays wing or outside centre for Leicester Tigers. ...

In 2002 he aroused some controversy amongst Munster and the press when Leicester retained the Heineken Cup. In the final, Tigers were leading Munster 15-9 in the final minutes of the match, and Munster had a scrum in the Leicester 22. With the referee distracted on the other side of the scrum, Neil Back swatted the ball from Munster scrum half Peter Stringer's hands before the put in. Tigers won possession and cleared the ball. The press and Munster fans were up in arms, but Munster's players conceded that gamesmanship was an integral part of the game. Some believe that Stringer should also have been experienced enough to avoid the situation, especially as Lewis Moody had tried but failed to do the same thing at the previous scrum. This overreaction took the shine off a dominant Tigers performance for which they were deserved winners. For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ... The Irish Rugby Football Union Munster Branch (also known as Munster Rugby) is one of four branches of the IRFU, and is responsible for rugby union in the Irish province of Munster. ... A rugby union scrum In rugby football, a scrummage or scrum is a way of restarting the game, either after an accidental infringement (a set scrum, in rugby union and rugby league), or when the ball has gone into touch (in rugby league only). ... The scrum-half is a rugby position also referred to as the half back. It is usually the strongest man in the back line as he will spend a large percentage of his time up with the forwards. ... Peter Alexander Stringer (born 13 December 1977) is a rugby union player who plays at scrum half for Munster and Ireland. ... Gamesmanship is the use of dubious (although not technically illegal) methods to win a game, often a sport, such as golf or football. ... Lewis Moody MBE (born 12 June 1978 in Ascot) is an English international rugby union footballer who was part of the 2003 World Cup winning side. ...

He captained England when Martin Johnson was injured. He took over the captaincy of Leicester for the 2003/4 season, but Johnson was reinstated as captain after the coaching coup that saw Dean Richards sacked as coach and replaced by John Wells, and Back given a role as a defence coach. Date of Birth: March 9, 1970 Place of Birth: Solihull, West Midlands Height: 6ft 7in (2. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Dean Richards (born 11th July 1963), affectionately known as Deano is a former England rugby union union player. ... John Wells (born 12 May 1963) is a former rugby union player and captain of Leicester Tigers and presently coach for Leicester and England A. Wells was born in Driffield, Yorkshire. ...

Back was one of England's outstanding players during the 2003 Rugby World Cup; starting six of the seven games in the tournament, scoring two tries along the way the only fixture he missed was the pool game against Uruguay.

He retired after he was dropped from the England team during the 2004 Six Nations, citing that he wanted to spend more time with his family rather than fight for his place in the side. Known for his competitive nature, he had previously vowed never to retire and was 34 at the time of the World Cup win. The Six Nations Championship (referred to as RBS 6 Nations for sponsorship reasons), (2000-) formerly known as the Five Nations Championship, is an annual international rugby union competition held between six European sides; England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. ...

He since stated, unlike Johnson, that he would make himself available for the 2005 British and Irish Lions tour to New Zealand and was selected in the squad, his third Lions tour. With the selection, Back became the oldest Lion ever, at age 36. He won his his fifth Lions cap in the first test but was left out of the side for the remaining two tests. This was his last top-flight rugby match. The 2005 Lions tour logo In 2005 the British and Irish Lions Rugby union team toured New Zealand for the first time since 1993, suffering a 3-0 whitewash at the hands of the New Zealand All Blacks. ...

Back is currently Leicester's defensive coach and is also the coach of acadmey and reserve team forwards. His first silverware as a coach was the Guinness A-League where Leicester's reserves won in a two legged final against Harlequins reserves.

External links

• Sporting heroes Sporting heroes player profile
• Leicester Tigers Leicester Tigers player profile
• planet-rugby Planet rugby player profile