Kay backs old pals to build on season of survival

HE won six Premiership titles in his 11-year Leicester Tigers career, two of them in the last two seasons, but ask Ben Kay who he thinks will win the competition this season and he admits that he hasn't a clue.

"I wouldn't put my house on any team winning the league or any team getting relegated," says the two-time World Cup finalist. "That's what I'm looking forward to most about this coming season, the sheer unpredictability of it.

"A few years ago at Leicester, we'd just rock up at places and expect to win – you can't do that now, there are no easy games."

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Kay's impartiality is understandable; he would not last two minutes in his post-retirement role as ESPN co-commentator if it was Leicester-this, Leicester-that.

But his prediction is also born out of the evidence presented by last year's Premiership campaign, and the general feeling throughout the league that the gap between top and bottom is narrowing.

Saracens were unlikely Premiership finalists, Wasps floundered and Northampton emerged, but no-one proved the theory last season as starkly as Leeds Carnegie, who were everyone's favourites to be relegated not only at the start of the season but also at Christmas.

Six wins later, however, and they had finished 10th, with a game to spare, so ending their own yo-yo existence and the elite's feeling of security.

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"I was hugely impressed with what Leeds achieved last season," adds Kay, who was linked to the Yorkshire club after his release from Leicester but says a move was never discussed at length.

"It would have been a travesty if they'd have gone down, considering some of the narrow defeats they had at the start of the season, they ran teams really close. And then it was a case of getting into that winning habit."

The 2009-10 campaign, however successful, is now history, and will count for nothing if Leeds do not progress this year.

The Headingley heirarchy have taken the bold step of freezing the debt they accumulated in their first season back in the big time to allow Neil Back and Andy Key more funds with which to play with this term.

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They are still not on a level financial playing field with the established clubs, yet Kay's former Tigers mates Back and Key are targeting a top-six finish this season and Heineken Cup qualification.

"Top six has to be the goal for Leeds," says Kay. "Last year was all about staying up but if they had kept that same goal for this year it wouldn't have had the same effect on the players.

"So it's a new motivation for them. This season though is their make-or-break season.

"Last year was a monumental feat of staying up against all the odds, and it was a great achievement.

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"Backy is targeting Heineken Cup qualification and if they do manage to build on what they did last year they'll have done a great job.

"Top six might be attainable. Respected sports psyhcologists have said that if you aim for the stars you get the moon.

"The problems will arise if they lose a few early games, particularly against some of the teams they hope to be finishing above this season.

"With such a small league of 12 clubs, a couple of results at a key time of the season can determine whether you're involved in a relegation dogfight or a battle for the top six."

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Failure to achieve their target will not spell disaster for Leeds, financially or otherwise, a fact Kay acknowledges given that even a small progression or even consolidation in such an intense competition is not to be sniffed at.

Leeds's recruitment policy has been geared at strengthening their options in every position, as well as increasing the quality of their young players, a tactic that Kay describes as shrewd.

The acquisition of England hooker Steve Thompson has caught the eye with Kay describing it as 'a real coup'.

"He'll fit into their style of play superbly with his ball carrying and physicality," he says. "Marco Wentzel as his lineout leader will suit him. I always enjoyed working with Thomo, he's someone you can develop a relationship with."

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But for Kay, Leeds's best weapon is their head coach and his former World Cup winning team-mate, Back.

"There's a huge amount of respect for Backy around the league, and among his squad," Kay adds of the man he spent nine years at Welford Road with.

"He's developed that relationship where they all want to play for him.

"What perhaps Backy should have done was move away straight away when he retired from playing. It's tough to go from playing with players into coaching them.

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"But he's now got clear distance between his old employers (at Leicester) and also the players he's coaching.

"The spirit he has engendered in that Leeds dressing room is part of his success, as well as the fact that he's a hugely-driven individual.

"One of the great things is how much enjoyment everyone gets out of playing for Backy, while retaining that hard edge on the field.

"And Kiwi's (Andy Key) a good person to have around. I've played in teams where there's been friction between coaches and it rubs off on the players, but you don't have that with Backy and Kiwi at Leeds."

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Kay will see for himself how Leeds are faring when the ESPN cameras come to Headingley Carnegie on October 22 for their fixture with Sale Sharks.

The fixture is one of 43 games screened live by the broadcaster this season, and Kay believes their cameras will be beaming some of the best ever Premiership action around the nation.