Back welcomes Kronfeld's presence
May 17, 2001

Leicester flanker Neil Back has warmly welcomed the addition of legendary All Black flanker Josh Kronfeld to the Tigers squad and believes it will enable him to extend his England career.

Ahead of Leicester's Heineken Cup Final clash with Stade Français on Saturday Back told the Daily Mail, "I don't feel at all threatened. Having Josh there will help me to perform better.

"It will also help me reach my personal goal of getting to the World Cup. In order to do that at my age, I cannot go on putting myself through as many domestic matches.

"I welcome Josh's signing, not least because it will take some of the pressure off me to play every game. I never thought I would hear myself say that but with so many matches of such high intensity, you cannot play in them all and be at your very best in every one.

"Dean (Richards) and the management got me in early on the Kronfeld signing so I have known about it since before Christmas. He is a world-class player who will be a great acquisition for the club.

"If I complete the Lions series in mid-July, then it would be wise for me to take a month off and use the whole of September for my pre-season work. Having Josh there gives the club a little more flexibility."

Live Sports

Communication error please reload the page.

ABOUT COOKIES

To help make this website better, to improve and personalize your experience and for advertising purposes, are you happy to accept cookies and other technologies.

More Info Here Cookie Choices