Back
Neil Back is one of the greatest players to ever represent England. Discover more about this rugby legend’s career with RugbyPass, your resident rugby gurus.
Neil Back Bio
A former captain of both England and Leicester, Neil Back is one of the game’s true greats. Over a highly-distinguished career, he made more than 300 appearances for Leicester, 66 appearances for England and five appearances for the British and Irish Lions. Neil Back was inducted into the RugbyPass Hall of Fame in 2021.
Born 16 January 1969, Neil Back played a wide range of sports during his youth, including football and cricket. However, towards the end of his school days, he decided to focus on rugby.
After representing Nottingham between 1988 and 1990, Neil Back joined Leicester Tigers. Between then and 2005, he made 339 appearances for the club, scoring 615 points in the process. However, although he was impressive for Leicester, his career with the team wasn’t without controversy and he was once banned for six months for pushing a referee to the ground.
Despite his stellar performances for Leicester in his early days, Neil Back’s small stature meant that he only made seven appearances for England between 1990 and 1995. However, he became a force as soon as he became a regular in the side and he went on to make 66 appearances for his country, including four as captain. During this time, the highlight of his career was undoubtedly the 2003 Rugby World Cup, when he played an instrumental role in England’s victory. Alongside this, Neil Back also went on three British and Irish Lions tours and was capped five times.
When he retired from the game in 2005, Neil Back took up coaching. During his time as a coach, Neil Back gained promotion from the RFU Championship with Leeds. He also enjoyed stints with Edinburgh, the Lions and Leicester Tigers. Now, he works in the media and makes a number of appearances at private events.
