View source for Neil Back

{{short description|English rugby union player}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}}
{{BLP sources|date=July 2012}}

{{Infobox rugby biography
| name = Neil Back <br /> <small>[[Order of the British Empire|MBE]]</small>
| image = Neil Back 2003.jpg
| caption = Back celebrating the English 2003 World Cup victory.
| birth_name = Neil Antony Back [[Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire|MBE]]
| birth_place = [[Coventry]], England
| birth_date={{Birth date and age|1969|01|16|df=yes}}
| death_date =
| death_place =
| height = {{convert|5|ft|10|in|m|abbr=on}}
| weight = {{convert|93|kg|lb stlb|abbr=on}}
| occupation = 
| spouse = 
| children =
| relatives =
| school = [[Woodlands School, Coventry]]
| university =
| position = Openside [[Flanker (rugby union)|flanker]]
| amatteam1 = Barker's Butts
| amatteam2 = Earlsdon
| years1 = 1988&ndash;1990
| clubs1 = [[Nottingham R.F.C.|Nottingham]]
| apps1 = 38
| points1 = 40
| years2 = 1990&ndash;2005
| clubs2 = [[Leicester Tigers]]
| apps2 = 339
| points2 = 615
| totalyears = 1988&ndash;2005
| totalapps = 377
| totalpoints = 655
| repyears1 = 1994&ndash;2003
| repteam1 = {{nrut|England}}
| repcaps1 = 66
| reppoints1 = 83
| repyears2 = 1997, 2001, 2005
| repteam2 = [[British & Irish Lions]]
| repcaps2 = 5
| reppoints2 = 5
| coachyears1 = 2003&ndash;2008
| coachteams1 = [[Leicester Tigers]]
| coachyears2 = 2008&ndash;2011
| coachteams2 = [[Leeds Tykes|Leeds Carnegie]]
| coachyears3 = 2011&ndash;2012
| coachteams3 = [[Rugby Lions]]
| coachyears4 = 2012&ndash;2013
| coachteams4 = [[Edinburgh Rugby]]
}}

'''Neil Antony Back''' [[Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire|MBE]] (born 16 January 1969) is an English former [[rugby union]] player and coach. He played as an open-side [[Flanker (rugby union)|flanker]] for Nottingham and [[Leicester Tigers]], and won 66 international caps for [[England national rugby union team|England]] and 5 for the [[British & Irish Lions]]. 

In his international career he played in three World Cups, 1995, 1999, and 2003, when he was an integral part of the [[2003 Rugby Union World Cup|2003 World Cup]] winning side. He also played on three Lions tours: the victorious tour to South Africa in 1997, and to Australia in 2001 and New Zealand in 2005. Following World Cup victory with England in 2003, he combined the roles of player and defensive coach for Leicester Tigers until he retired, following a 17-year playing career. One of his final games saw him become the oldest test British Lion in history, in the first test match against New Zealand in 2005.

As a coach, he worked for Leicester, Leeds Carnegie and Edinburgh.

== Early life ==
Back was born in [[Coventry]], where he attended The [[Woodlands School, Coventry|Woodlands School]] between September 1980 and July 1987. During his time at the school, he also played football, cricket, basketball, athletics and cross country before opting to strive to gain international status in rugby union. Back learnt his trade at junior clubs in Coventry, Earlsdon RFC and Barker's Butts RFC, and went on to represent England at Schools, Colts, U21 and Saxons levels.

==Playing career==
He made his full England debut against Scotland in 1994. He began his senior playing career in 1988 for [[Nottingham R.F.C.|Nottingham]].<ref>[http://www.espn.co.uk/scrum/rugby/player/10788.html Neil Back: England career statistics]. ''ESPN''. Retrieved 3 August 2013</ref>

In 1990 he joined Leicester Tigers and remained there for the next 18 years as a player and coach, gaining 339 caps and scoring a club record (for a forward) 125 tries.<ref> [http://www.leicestertigers.com%2Fplayer%2Fneil-back&usg=AOvVaw0wzo_Ou3xOW34CZpOLN-6a&opi=89978449 about:blank#blocked]<nowiki/>{{Dead url|date=August 2024}} </ref>

Despite impressive performances between 1990 and 1995, he was not selected for England regularly, picking up only 7 caps during this period, on the basis that he was considered too small by some selectors,{{cn|date=July 2025}} at only {{height|m=1.78}} and {{convert|93|kg|lb st|abbr=on}}.

His most controversial moment came in Leicester's 1996 [[Pilkington Cup]] final defeat against [[Bath Rugby|Bath]]. As the final whistle was blown, Back pushed referee [[Steve Lander]] to the ground.{{citation needed|date=December 2017}} Back maintained that he had mistaken Lander for Bath back-row (and future England head coach) [[Andy Robinson]]. Back was given a six-month ban from the game, but from a dark moment blazed back even fitter, fresher and more focused than he had ever been following a 20-week, 6 days a week, twice a day torturous training schedule.{{cn|date=July 2025}}

This led to a call-up to the [[1997 British Lions tour to South Africa]], where he played in the final two test matches, the second where the series was won. He subsequently became an important part of [[Clive Woodward]]'s England team, forming the famous back-row unit with [[Richard Hill (rugby union, born 1973)|Richard Hill]] and [[Lawrence Dallaglio]]. He was also one of five Tigers players selected for his second Lions tour in [[2001 British & Irish Lions tour to Australia|2001]], winning another two Test caps, and then went on to become the oldest Test Lion in history on his third and final tour to New Zealand in 2005, earning his fifth test cap in the first Test.

In 1999 he was Leicester's top try scorer with 16 tries.

He scored a try in the [[2001 Heineken Cup Final]] in which Leicester beat [[Stade Français]] by 34–30, and won the lineout which led to [[Austin Healey]]'s break and [[Leon Lloyd]]'s winning try.<ref>{{cite news
|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/in_depth/2000/heineken_cup/1339721.stm
|title=European glory seals Leicester treble
|publisher=[[BBC]]
|date=19 May 2001 |access-date=7 September 2014}}</ref>

In the [[2002 Heineken Cup Final]] he again aroused controversy. Tigers were leading [[Munster Rugby|Munster]] 15–9 in the final minutes of the match, and Munster had a [[Scrum (rugby union)|scrum]] well inside the Leicester 22. With the referee distracted on the other side of the scrum, Back knocked the ball illegally from [[Munster Rugby|Munster]] [[Scrum-half (rugby union)|scrum-half]] [[Peter Stringer]]'s hands before the put-in and Leicester won possession and cleared the ball. The press and Munster fans were up in arms, though Munster's players sportingly conceded that [[gamesmanship]] was an integral part of the game.<ref>{{cite news
|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/european/2008245.stm
|title=Tigers retain European Cup
|publisher=[[BBC]]
|date=25 May 2002 |access-date=7 September 2014}}</ref>

He captained England on four occasions when [[Martin Johnson (rugby union)|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 (rugby player)|Dean Richards]] sacked as coach and replaced by [[John Wells (rugby)|John Wells]], and Back was given a role as a Player/Defence Coach.

Back scored two tries in the [[2003 Rugby World Cup]] and played his last game for England in their win over Australia in the final  He won 66 caps (4 as captain) and played in three World Cups (1995, 1999 & 2003).

==Coaching career==
Back's coaching career started at Leicester Tigers following England's World Cup success in 2003, when he became their defensive coach while still a player. When he finally retired from playing after the Lions' tour of New Zealand in 2005, he continued as Tigers' defensive coach, but to aid his coach development also took on the role of head coach of Leicester Tigers Academy and assistant forwards coach.

On 27 June 2008, Back left Leicester and signed a 3-year contract with Leeds Carnegie as head coach. In his first year Leeds Carnegie were promoted from the Championship to the Premiership, where they battled to remain against all the odds for the next 2 seasons on a very limited budget.

On 4 July 2011, after turning down a director of Rugby role at a Premiership Club announced that he would instead take on the same role at 'The Rugby Football Club (2011) Ltd', formerly known as 'Rugby Lions' in National League 3 Midlands, while Key became chief executive.<ref>{{cite web|title=Neil Back to take over as coach at lowly Rugby Lions |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/14022372.stm|work=BBC Sport|access-date=5 July 2011|date=4 July 2011}}</ref> Several high-quality players joined the new outfit, such as [[Ben Gollings]] and [[Leigh Hinton]], which helped the Lions remain unbeaten all season (26 League + 5 Cup games), winning the League, automatic promotion and domestic cup in Back's first season.

During June 2011, Back joined Edinburgh Rugby's coaching staff alongside ex-Ireland international scrum half, Michael Bradley and Billy McGinty.

==Personal life==
He is married to Alison, with whom he has a daughter, Olivia, who joined him on the winning podium in 2003, and a son, [[Fin Back|Finley]].

==See also==
* [[List of top English points scorers and try scorers]]
* [[Rugby Lions]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
*[http://www.neilback.com/ Neil Back's Official Endorsed website]
*[http://www.sporting-heroes.net/rugby-heroes/displayhero.asp?HeroID=5527 Sporting heroes Sporting heroes player profile]
*[http://www.leicestertigers.com/squad/players.php?player=3634&includeref=dynamic Leicester Tigers player profile]
*{{ESPNscrum|10788}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-sports}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Matt Dawson]]<br>[[Martin Johnson (rugby union)|Martin Johnson]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=English National Rugby Union Captain|years=Nov 2001<br>Mar–Apr 2002}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Martin Johnson (rugby union)|Martin Johnson]]<br>[[Phil Vickery (rugby union)|Phil Vickery]]}}
{{end}}

{{England 1995 Rugby World Cup squad}}
{{British and Irish Lions 1997}}
{{England 1999 Rugby World Cup squad}}
{{British and Irish Lions 2001}}
{{England 2003 Rugby World Cup squad}}
{{British and Irish Lions 2005}}
{{English national rugby union team captains}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Back, Neil}}
[[Category:1969 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:British & Irish Lions rugby union players from England]]
[[Category:England international rugby union players]]
[[Category:English rugby union coaches]]
[[Category:English rugby union players]]
[[Category:Leeds Tykes coaches]]
[[Category:Leicester Tigers coaches]]
[[Category:Leicester Tigers players]]
[[Category:Members of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:People educated at Woodlands Academy, Coventry]]
[[Category:Rugby union flankers]]
[[Category:Rugby union players from Coventry]]
[[Category:1995 Rugby World Cup players]]
[[Category:1999 Rugby World Cup players]]
[[Category:2003 Rugby World Cup players]]
[[Category:20th-century English sportsmen]]