Neil hopes Back-hander is in the past

Neil Back does not expect Munster to be holding grudges despite him supplying rugby’s version of Maradona’s “Hand of God” to deny Munster victory in last year’s Heineken Cup final.

Back’s illegal intervention at a scrum, unspotted by the referee although it was picked up by television, helped Leicester hold out under pressure in the closing stages last year as they beat Munster 15-9 at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

“I expect a very vocal crowd. It’s a very passionate clash,” said the England flanker, who denied hearing the booing directed his way during the Grand Slam triumph over Ireland at Lansdowne Road two weeks ago.

Leicester and Munster meet again in this year’s quarter-finals at Welford Road ground on Sunday and Back has found himself being asked to hark back to last season’s final.

“If it had happened in the first half of the game would we be talking about it now?,” Back asked.

“I would rather talk about how we crossed their line four times. If it had been a boxing match it would have been stopped well before that incident.”

The Munster players and fans, he insists, understood what he did and why he did it and Back stoked the fires of controversy by claiming that it was really Munster scrum-half Peter Stringer’s fault anyway.

“I spoke to Ronan O’Gara after the game and they blamed Stringer for the whole thing because a minute before Lewis Moody did it and he should have learned from that,” he said.

But the topic was still up for discussion at this month’s Grand Slam decider and Back revealed: “After the Ireland game I went out and had a few beers and met loads of passionate Irish fans – Munster fans and Leinster fans – and generally that incident came up in conversation.

“Even the most passionate Munster fans I met weren’t ferocious or showed me any disrespect at all. They said ‘if one of our players had done it we’d have been buying him a pint now’.

“I had some mail about it, there’s no secret about that but all I would say is to think that doesn’t go on is a bit naive really. I could reel off now a thousand incidents that are equivalent to what I did every Saturday and Sunday in every week that rugby union’s played,” he said.

Leicester coach Dean Richards compared the reaction from the Irish fans to his own experience at the hands of the Scots after a much-publicised incident during his playing days.

“It’s no worse than when I had the accident with the Calcutta Cup. The following year I was jeered but a lot of it’s on a jovial basis.

“As one of the Munster boys said ‘if Backy was an Irishman he would probably be the Mayor now’,” said Richards.

Both Richards and Back now have their focus firmly fixed on Sunday’s quarter-final as Leicester chase the unprecedented achievement of winning the Heineken Cup three years in a row and the flanker does not expect any backlash from last year’s controversy or England’s victory over Ireland two weeks ago.

“It’s a new occasion, a different occasion. Professional sportsmen now have got the ability to put previous games out of their minds. It’s two different sides this weekend,” said 34-year-old Back, who made it clear he has no intention of quitting the sport just yet.

“It’s all about desire and enthusiasm and it’s never been stronger. In terms of condition, I’m doing personal bests on everything. We are six or seven years into the professional era now and a lot has improved in that respect.

“Week on week, because I get the conditioning side right and the nutritional support, I feel fantastic so I’ve no thoughts of retiring. When I haven’t got the desire and the enthusiasm I will be the first to put my hands up.

“But that’s not the case. I’m on the top of my game in terms of form, with the experience of years,” said Back.

He knows Munster will provide tough opposition again but he neatly side-stepped the question of whether he would hit them with another Back-hander if similar circumstances arise on Sunday.

“I play the game of rugby to win. I’m a competitor,” was the reply.