Neil Back

Neil Antony Back (born January 16 1969 in Coventry) is a former international rugby union footballer for England, who also played for Leicester Tigers.

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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.

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Neil 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.

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He also played for Nottingham.

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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). Opponents to this 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, he was blessed with an enormous workrate.

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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.

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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 Back given a role as a defence coach.

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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.

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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 35 at the time of the World Cup win.

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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 fifth Lions cap in the first test but was left out of the side for the remaining two tests.

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Back has been offered coaching positions with Leicester and England's Academy after his expected imminent retirement, and has stated that he wishes to one day coach England.

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January 16: January 16 is the 16th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 349 days remaining (350 in leap years)....

1969: 1969 was a common year starting on Wednesday...

Coventry: :For alternative meanings see: Coventry (disambiguation)...

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