Back quits Leeds Carnegie

Back leaves after three years at the club and with the Yorkshire side heading down to the Championship, barring a win for Cornish Pirates in the promotion play-off with Worcester.

Chief executive Gary Hetherington said this morning the club will not be rushed into appointing Back’s successor.

Hetherington said: “In terms of timing, there’s never good time, but at least we have the entire off-season. The players would normally be coming back at the end of June.

“It’s an important decision, we don’t want to rush into it, we want to get it right, so there’s no particular timescale on when an appointment has got to be made.

“A lot of thought will go into it, a lot of research and hopefully we’ll get the right man.”

Commenting on his decision, 66-cap former England forward Back said: “The experiences over the last three years have been incredible in terms of my personal and coaching development.

“I am very passionate about what I do and I have thrived on the challenge over the past three years, however taking all things into account, I feel I have taken Leeds as far as I can.

“I am very proud of what Leeds Carnegie has achieved over the last three years against the odds and I wish Leeds all the success for the future.”

Back, a World Cup winner and serial winner of trophies with Leicester during his playing days, led Leeds to promotion from the second tier in his first season alongisde Andy Key, and to survival in their first year in the Premiership.

Hetherington added in a statment: “Having met with Neil, he has informed me of his intention to move on at the end of the season to enable him to look for a new challenge.

“I would like to thank Neil for all his efforts during the past three years when he has helped move the club forward into a stronger position.

“In his first season, we won promotion and last season we defied the odds to retain our place in the Premiership.

“However, this year we have fallen short by the smallest of margins on the final day of the season and that comes as a disappointment to all of us.”

Keep checking the website throughout the day for updates and you can also follow developments on Twitter @NWestbyYPSport. For the full story read Wednesday’s Yorkshire Post.