As Leeds Carnegie coach Neil Back prepares for his first return to Leicester Tigers, former team-mate Tim Stimpson tells Dave Craven what has made him such a legend at Welford Road.
A HEAD-BUTT is not usually seen as a term of endearment.
But for Tim Stimpson, receiving such treatment from his Leicester Tigers colleague Neil Back was as golden a moment as any in his own long, illustrious career.
"It's my over-riding memo
ry of him," recalled the record-breaking full-back, who also played alongside the erstwhile flanker for England and toured with him on the 1997 British Lions visit to South Africa.
"He grabbed me by the head and butted me – twice.
"People might think that's crazy and not very nice but it meant the world to me when I looked back.
"Backy doesn't know the meaning of the word fear – or thousands of others.
"He expressed himself that day with that head-butt.
"For me, that meant acceptance and, to earn the respect of Neil Back for doing my job and helping our team get through a really, really tight game to the European Cup final meant everything.
"I played with Martin Johnson and Jonny Wilkinson but Neil Back stands out as a world-class player."
The game in question was the 2002 Heineken Cup semi-final against Llanelli. Stimpson's
60m stoppage-time penalty ricocheted off a post, bounced onto the crossbar and then dropped over to hand the Tigers the narrowest of victories, 13-12.
Late in the final, the warrior-like openside who played more than 300 games for the Tigers, re-paid the favour with a more controversial but equally crucial intervention of his own
Back illegally dislodged the ball from the grasp of Munster's Peter Stringer as the desperate Tigers prepared to defend a scrum close to their own line, hanging on at 15-9.
The manoeuvre went unnoticed and the European champions held out to lift the trophy for a second year running.
Stimpson, a Leicester hero in his own right being their record points scorer, says World Cup winner Back is just as much a legend as Johnson at his spiritual home.
Part of the side that also hoisted four consecutive Premiership titles between 1999 and 2002, Back overcame his lack of stature to perform relentless and heroic exploits on the field.
"Backy wasn't 6ft 6ins and 20 stone," said Stimpson, who started his career at Wakefield before winning his first Premiership with Newcastle Falcons and later returning to Yorkshire in Leeds colours.
"He had to learn how to become the best in his area – getting over the ball, his handling skills, reading of the game and communication.
"Being a flanker is supposed to be pretty tiring but Backy had the levels of fitness whereby he could carry on talking to his scrum-half, forwards and backs all the way through.
"In that Leicester era where we won so much, he was in the top two or three performers every match. He set exemplary high standards and, like Jonno, said it all without opening his mouth."
After working in the Leicester backroom team upon his retirement in 2005, alongside the likes of current England coaches Jon Wells and Graham Rowntree, Back accepted the head coach position at Leeds last year and, with another former Tiger Andy Key, guided them out of National One back into the top flight.
But Stimpson says the transition for his former colleague has not been easy.
"I've had conversations with Backy where he accepted when he first went into coaching he wasn't very good," he said.
"He had to learn that everyone isn't the same as him. He set those incredible high standards and expected others to be like that so found it very frustrating. He had to find other ways of communicating and expressing himself."
However, Stimpson eventually recommended him for the Leeds role. "I left Leicester, went off to play in France and then came back to play with the Tykes," he recalled. "But, later, when I spoke to mates back there, they said the most improved coach at the Tigers was Neil Back. I knew he was the right man for Leeds when they asked." Back has won plenty of admirers during his stint at Headingley Carnegie but, as has always been the case for newly-promoted sides, staying in the Premiership is the toughest task of all.
Bottom-placed Leeds have just one success to their name from their opening nine fixtures so tomorrow's trip to face the reigning champions at Welford Road – where they have never won – is not ideal.
However, that sole triumph came at Wasps and they recently pushed leaders Saracens mightily close away from home.
Stimpson, 36, added: "You can see how hard the Carnegie boys are playing but I just think in this competition where every team is incredibly competitive, they are just lacking a couple of strike runners just to get them over.
"They can compete for 60 or 70 minutes but are losing near the end. I'm sure Backy wishes he could be on the field doing his bit but I know he's enjoying the opportunity to work with these guys."
With his booming kicking ability, Stimpson would be a prize asset given the current Premiership style where tries are in short supply.
Now retired after a brief spell in the lower leagues with Nottingham, he admitted: "Geordan Murphy did say this game nowadays is based for me – kicking for position and kicking goals – but that's not rugby how I love it. It should be about expressing yourself and having a go but this is getting quite dull. We need support from the IRB and referee assessors to give coaches the confidence to go out there and play."
