Rugby Union Commentary: Back's up against the wall

Open-side flankers are allowed to be hyperactive - indeed, it is almost part of the job description - but Neil Back is beginning to abuse the privilege. The man simply does not know when to stop, and until he learns to calm himself down at the sound of the final whistle, he will continue to land himself in hot water with those who hold the key to his future as an England international.

Almost exactly eight months ago, Leicester's livewire breakaway let his highly developed sense of personal injustice get the better of him at the end of a controversial Pilkington Cup final and, notoriously, took it out on the referee, Steve Lander.

It was not a bright move, as the subsequent three-month ban made clear, yet on Saturday Back let rip again. On this occasion the tantrum was verbal rather than physical, but in the eyes and ears of the England selectors it probably amounted to the same thing.

Having performed quite brilliantly to help his side beat Toulouse, 37- 11, in a Heineken European Cup semi-final that was far more intense and unforgiving than the scoreline made out, Back clambered on to his soapbox and gave it plenty.

He was, he said, aggrieved not only at the England hierarchy's failure to include him in their Five Nations squad, but also at their reluctance to offer him either an explanation or, at the very least, some words of comfort. He had even written to Jack Rowell, the coach, but had received no reply and that, he thought, was well out of order. Talk about putting your size 12s in it.

By his own admission Rowell rarely takes the slightest notice of First Division coaches, let alone players, so it was a safe bet that this latest outburst would cut about as much ice as Dean Richards on skates. As the Tigers captain said later with more than a hint of exasperation in his voice: "I thought Neil made his statement out there on the pitch." Had Back left it at that, he would today be basking in the glow of triumph rather than fuming in the tainted half-light of bitter frustration.

Richards felt Back was more than worth the price of another phone call from Twickers. "He was outstanding when it mattered in that first 20 minutes or so when Toulouse were really coming at us," said the No 8. Richards' sanguine acceptance of his own international isolation was in contrast to his back-row colleague's. "Me? I'd love to be involved at Test level again but I really don't think it's likely."

While Back's high-octane support work was the dominant feature of a first half in which the Tigers piled up a 14-point advantage despite spending long periods under the hammer, Richards' control was central to proceedings after the break. Five tries to one suggested that Leicester spent the entire afternoon in the ascendancy, but the Frenchmen were alive and kicking - sometimes literally - until the hour mark. Had it not been for the home side's immense discipline and remarkable appetite for building and manning defensive barricades, the biggest day at Welford Road for many a long year might easily have turned sour.

For all their obvious discomfort in the face of freezing conditions and a typically raucous home crowd, Toulouse, proud champions despite their physiological fragility, were in no mood to lay down and die as they had at Wasps in October. Christian Califano's phenomenal exhibition at loose-head prop had the Tigers' set-piece in all manner of strife, and there were big performances from Sylvain Dispagne at No 8 and Stephane Ougier at full-back. Unfortunately for them, Christophe Deylaud had one of his "interesting" days at outside-half, and when that happens those around him tend to spend the match flying by the seat of their pants.

Deylaud missed a sitter of a penalty in the second minute - his kicking style was not so much round-the-corner as round-the-twist - and five minutes later he compounded the error by throwing an unnecessarily extravagant cut-out pass behind the back of Ougier and he could only watch as Steve Hackney pocketed the loose ball and sprinted 70 metres to the posts.

When Will Greenwood, supremely accomplished in the Tigers' midfield, sent Back over with the sweetest of against-the-grain passes after some muscular work from Stuart Potter, the visitors stepped up several gears in response. The game was barely into its second quarter but, sometimes, the crux arrives early: Dispagne was held up over the line, as was Jerome Cazelbou, and when Jim Fleming penalised the Toulouse front-row at the ensuing five-metre scrum - a strange call given their dominance of that particular phase - the whole of Leicester blew out its cheeks and thanked the Lord for small mercies.

Having escaped, somewhat fortunately, with their lead intact, Richards and his cohorts rolled up their sleeves and got stuck in with a vengeance. The second half saw Leicester at their solid, uncomplicated best: a Darren Garforth try off the side of a driving maul, a penalty try as the ABC club in the home front-row finally managed to put one over their increasingly exasperated opponents and a thrilling dart to the corner from Austin Healey after a cunning chip-juggle-feed routine from Greenwood. By the end, the collective Toulouse temper resembled a tinder box.

"For three and a half years we have won all our important matches so we are not used to failure," said Guy Noves, the Toulouse coach, by way of explaining the aggressive excesses of Deylaud, Didier Lacroix and Patrick Soula, all of whom lost it big time in the final quarter.

Noves would have been completely baffled had someone informed him that the angriest man at Welford Road was to be found in the victors' dressing- room rather than his own.

Leicester: Tries Hackney, Back, Garforth, penalty try, Healey; Conversions J Liley 3; Penalties J Liley 2. Toulouse: Try Marfaing; Penalties Deylaud 2.

Leicester: J Liley; S Hackney (R Underwood, 74), S Potter, W Greenwood, L Lloyd; R Liley, A Healey; G Rowntree, R Cockerill, D Garforth, M Johnson, M Poole, J Wells, D Richards (capt), N Back.

Toulouse: S Ougier; E Ntamack (capt), M Marfaing, T Castaignede, D Berty; C Deylaud, J Cazalbou; C Califano, P Soula (P Lasserre, 71), J-L Jordana, H Miorin, F Belot, D Lacroix, S Dispagne, R Sonnes (H Manent, 55).

Referee: J Fleming (Scotland).