News

Back: My move was not a gamble

July 01 2008

Neil Back has rubbished reports claiming his decision to leave Leicester Tigers for the challenge of guiding Leeds back into the Guinness Premiership is a gamble.

Back, who was linked with the Leicester Head Coach position last week will instead take over at Leeds as they look to bounce back into the top flight of English rugby.

He will be Head Coach alongside his old Leicester colleague Andy Key, who is the club's new Director of Rugby.

"I did interview with the Tigers but a couple of days later I interviewed with Leeds," the 39-year-old Back told The Yorkshire Post.

"Meeting the people and seeing the structure in place here made it an easy choice for me. After agreeing terms with Leeds I effectively took myself out of the running at Leicester.

"I don't think it's a gamble on my part. It's a great opportunity and I'm privileged to have been given it.

"Hopefully, at the end of the year the appointment will be shown to be the correct one for both parties.

"The first meeting with Gary Hetherington [Leeds' Chief Executive] went well and when I saw the infrastructure here I didn't take much convincing.

"It's a fantastic opportunity for Andy and myself to put our stamp on things."

The new coaching team have been tasked with winning Leeds promotion back to the Guinness Premiership, and with Leeds retaining the bulk of their squad the duo have a solid base to work with.

Both men believe intensity will be a vital ingredient in achieving promotion.

"Every game is going to be a cup final. The league has strengthened since I was last involved," said Key, who has experience in National League One with Bedford.

"But we are going to try and bring a style of rugby that is pretty intense.

"We both realise the task we face. We need to get close to the players quickly to establish why we came down and how can we get them back up.

"There's a couple of areas of expertise that we think we can bring to the party, but we'll take as much time as we can to try and get to know the players.

"We are aware of their strengths and hopefully it won't take too long."

Neither man would talk about the players they wish to bring in, although first on their agenda is trying to convince Tom Biggs to stay. Biggs has caught the attention of several Premiership clubs, including Back's old team Leicester.

"He [Biggs] is a class act and as far as we are concerned we want to retain him and we'd like to talk to him quite quickly," added Key.

"We'll be looking in the market place for new players. All options are open. I like to think our departure from Leicester has been amicable and we'd like to forge some strong relationships with them."