Back: I’d hate to be judged on that Munster dirty trick

NEIL BACK begins his 13th season at Leicester this week with a confession about the notorious piece of gamesmanship which denied Munster’s European Cup final dream last May.

A summer’s reflection has prompted England’s senior professional to talk about a reputation “tarnished” by the incident which brought Leicester’s Heineken Cup triumph over Munster to an uproarious end in Cardiff three months ago.

“In a way, I wish I hadn’t done it,” said Back, referring to the illegal act of slapping the ball out of Munster scrum half Peter Stringer’s hands as he went to feed a last-minute scrum in front of the Leicester posts with the holders defending a 15-9 lead.