Carnegie no longer have control over their destiny, concedes Back

Neil Back admits Leeds Carnegie’s Premiership destiny is now out of their hands after a meek surrender to Harlequins yesterday in their latest must-win game at Headingley Carnegie.

The Londoners ran in five tries in a 38-3 rout of hapless Leeds that leaves the Yorkshire club circling the Premiership drain.

They can still avoid relegation if Newcastle fail to pick up any points in their final two games against Bath and they earn at least a bonus point at Northampton on Saturday week.

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Their Premiership lives may also be spared if hot favourites Worcester fail to win promotion from the Championship, with the three other teams contesting the play-offs unlikely to meet the criteria for entry into the top flight set out by the Rugby Football Union.

And their remaining opponents Northampton may have one eye on a potential Heineken Cup final and a Premiership play-off semi-final so may not field their strongest team.

Though there may be plenty of straws for Leeds to clutch at, what they should be doing is keeping the outcome of the survival race in their own grasp, rather than in the lap of the gods.

They failed to do that yesterday with a second listless performance on the trot following their collapse at Wasps, which means a third demotion in six years looks increasingly likely.

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Back conceded: “For the first time this season it is out of our hands because Newcastle have two games.

“The fortunate thing is their opposition is Bath who have something to fight for. Bath need to take 10 points to give themselves an opportunity to get into the top four.

“Next week there is something on their game at Newcastle and they need to get a win.

“I won’t watch that game because we’ve got to switch off from rugby, mentally recoup and come in for the 80 minutes of our lives (at Northampton) and give it everything. That may get us the result we need.”

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Whether or not Leeds face a full-strength Saints team at Franklins Gardens on May 7, their two performances since reviving their fortunes at Newcastle make the chances of them pinching at the very least a losing bonus point, look slim.

“That is the perception,” admitted Back.

“We’re faced with a task that we hoped we wouldn’t be faced with but in sport funny things can happen.

“What Leeds have had to do because of where we are and how we’re supported is maximise our potential because there are better squads out there with more quality and more internationals, and it’s no coincidence they cost more money.

“As we have proven over the last two years if everyone does as well as they possibly can we give ourselves a chance.

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“That’s what we need to focus on. No one gave us a hope against London Irish last year and we beat them and that started our climb to safety.

“Northampton away is as tough as it can get. We know with the quality Northampton have got, if they play to their potential then it will be a tough game.”

On the performance of his team, Back added: “You strive to give 100 per cent, you try to get as close to that as possible, and parts of the game I don’t think we were quite there, particularly late on but that was after the game had gone.”

Match report: Page 8.