Neil Back

Neil Back

England are where they are

Fri Nov 20 02:37PM

Martin Johnson, along with his coaches and players, has come in for a lot of stick recently and I am not going to jump on the bandwagon and join his critics. Jonno is a great friend and a former team-mate for both England and Leicester. We go back a long, long…More

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Recent posts by Neil Back

  • Give Johnno time

    Fri Nov 13 08:51AM

    After the summer exploits against the Barbarians and back-to-back games against Argentina, it was a disappointing summer for England. The loss to the Barbarians was followed by a good victory at home, albeit at Old Trafford, and then they travelled away and losing there was a big dent to England's...More

    30 comments

  • Injuries are part of the game

    Thu Nov 12 04:14PM

    There has been a lot of talk about injury problems in rugby, but injuries are inevitable in this sport. Most squads have between 32 and 35 players with a group of development/academy players to supplement the programme. The emphasis has got to be with the management of players and their...More

    7 comments

  • Momentum vital for England

    Fri Nov 06 09:26AM

    I said in my last blog that I believe England can beat the Wallabies and, judging where they are at the moment, I think two wins out of three this autumn will be a reasonable return.There may be a few new faces in the England set-up but they have a...More

    11 comments

  • Underdogs England can win

    Thu Nov 05 11:19AM

    It's no secret that Martin Johnson's choices have been severely curtailed by injuries ahead of the opening autumn international with Australia. His team is what it is because of the situation.As always, there are a few positions that could have gone the other way, and I think James Haskell has...More

    4 comments

  • Gatland missing the point

    Fri Oct 30 09:02AM

    Warren Gatland has come out and said that the Premiership is the weakest he has ever seen and while everybody is entitled to their opinion, I cannot say that I agree with him. For me, the Premiership is the most competitive club competition in the world. It is a long...More

    10 comments

  • Give Johnson time says Backy

    England's injuries provide opportunities

    Thu Oct 29 02:23PM

    Managing expectations ahead of England's autumn internationals always had to be a careful process even before Martin Johnson had a spate of withdrawals.Last year there was a lot of hope before the games and there ended up being some disappointing results. However, you saw a style of play beginning to...More

    3 comments

  • Backy: Less games, less injuries

    Thu Oct 22 11:49AM

    Injuries have become the hot topic in rugby recently, especially after the experiences of England and Wales ahead of next month's internationals. Martin Johnson will be without 12 players for England's opener with Australia, while Warren Gatland is missing a handful of key starters for their clash with the All Blacks.It...More

    4 comments

  • Geech perfect for Quins

    Wed Oct 21 01:18PM

    I had the pleasure of attending a dinner in honour of Ian McGeechan earlier this week and it struck me that the great man is the ideal candidate to take over at Quins. Geech played for Headingley during his club career and it is a mark of his standing in...More

    3 comments

  • Impressed by youth

    Fri Oct 16 12:28PM

    There were some surprise results in the opening round of the Heineken Cup during which a number of young England players caught my eye. London Irish's victory in Leinster may not have produced any tries but it was enthralling none the less. It was a high pressure game and Ryan...More

    1 comments