Rugby Union: The day Skinner goes hunting for Tigers: Barrie Fairall on the England flanker who returned to Blackheath and today gives Leicester the charge

IF Mick Skinner told you that he had bumped into an old friend, then your first thought would be to enquire about the poor fellow's health. After all, Skinner's idea of bumping into people is to hit them with a big tackle and ask questions later. Once again the driving force behind Blackheath, who he played for long before Harlequins and England, the flanker's rugby often looks about as subtle as a dumper truck.

Which is why there will be a bit of a buzz at the Rectory Field this afternoon when Dean Richards and Leicester hit town in the fourth round of the Pilkington Cup. Richards, remember, is one of Skinner's old England friends and the welcome may not be so much of the open-arms variety as a dropped shoulder and a short-range charge. Leicester Tiger meets Blackheath bull.

A pity, then, that Third Division Blackheath have no major sponsor to help provide the sort of temporary seating you might expect to go with a tie like this against First Division opponents and cup holders. If Leicester's travelling road show is up to scratch, then their supporters are definitely in for something of culture shock.

Skinner, of course, is used to the big occasion and rubbing shoulders with the greats. Off the pitch, too, where the likeable Geordie's enthusiasm, it seems, knows no bounds. When John Major visited the England dressing-room after the match against Ireland at Twickenham in 1992, Skinner greeted the Prime Minister with a couple of slaps on the back and the words: 'Hey, top man]' He also confesses he cannot remember whether he called the Queen 'Luv or Ma'am' when being introduced before the 1991 World Cup final.

But that is Skinner for you and at 35 the proud holder of 21 caps has certainly not changed. When Blackheath's Blaydon-born boy heard that his club had drawn Leicester, he was thrilled. 'I love the idea of it,' he said at the time and even now he can barely suppress the excitement at being given the chance at least to tweak the Tigers' tail.

And one tail in particular? Not really. 'It's not just Dean Richards,' Skinner said. 'It's Dean Richards and John Wells and Wells with Deano becomes twice the player. He's a very good blindside flanker and put them together and it's fairly impossible to get the ball off either of them. Even if you tackle one, the other usually comes out with it.'

This is the serious side of Skinner, who you can sense is building himself up mentally for the sort of big hit that rocked the Frenchman Marc Cecillon during England's 1991 World Cup quarter-final at the Parc des Princes. Neil Back? 'He's more of a worry for the backs, but obviously we can't allow him to roam free and get in the girls' hair.'

Skinner always refers to all backs as girls and Back does link with his own rather well. 'But it's fairly easy to take out an openside flanker by committing him to a tackle. What's going to be a lot harder for us is coping with the forward dominance of the rest of the Leicester pack.' Backs to the wall stuff, in other words.

A computer trouble-shooter at Scotland Yard, Skinner gives his overall analysis. 'We'll be as fit as they are in the first half, so up until half-time I'll expect nothing else but total commitment. Our problems will come after that. But as long as they don't lie down, the youngsters will learn so much from the match - about line-out technique, about how much quicker players are in the First Division, about how much stronger they are.

'To be honest, some people have league rugby coming out of every orifice. But Blackheath are in the middle of the Third Division and they're not going up or down this season. So I can't stress enough how important it is to play cup rugby. I'm confident the team will get a lot out of it and that in the long term will improve our chances of getting out of the Third.'

Since Skinner moved back to Blackheath, he has involved himself in coaching. 'I help out when they want to listen. Danny Vaughan is the coach and Ian Exeter looks after the backs. We've got a very amicable arrangement. I may talk all the time on the pitch, but at training I'll wait to be asked rather than rant or rave. For the players, it's important that I get on with playing.'

Playing internationals ended against Wales last year, but the word retirement was never mentioned. 'I didn't write a book either.' No, but a video, entitled Mick 'The Munch' Skinner's Greatest Hits, did arrive in the post yesterday morning. 'I thought it was important not to become stereotyped. When Gareth Chilcott had his farewells it was like Roy of the Rovers. It's a lot easier to finish at the top.

'But I thought, hang on, I've got so much to give Blackheath, a couple of years to work hard at giving the right thing and doing the right thing. What I didn't realise was how difficult it was going to be - for me and people at the club who might have been having an easy ride until I decided to return. After a season, though, everybody knows what's expected of them and it's enjoyable.'

And now Skinner confronts the Tigers. 'I've always liked playing against the best. You want to see the buzz among the youngsters here. They're all looking at me and saying 'is it really exciting for Mick?' And it is because I've got 14 other lads in the team I care about.' Hard man, soft centre.

(Photograph omitted)