Back has had a hands-on role in helping mould Leeds into a competitive unit

By James Standley

On Sunday, Leeds can pull off something that head coach Neil Back insists would be an even greater achievement than winning the World Cup.

If the former England flanker's side beats Worcester in what the marketing men have dubbed the "£1m match", it will guarantee their Premiership survival and a second successive season in the top flight.

And after a campaign which has seen Leeds fighting with one hand tied behind their back financially, able to spend barely half of the £4m Premiership salary cap, Back is in no doubt it would be a finer achievement than lifting the Webb Ellis trophy on a dramatic night in Sydney in 2003.

"Will Greenwood spoke about that on TV when I said it earlier this season and I got a text within 24 hours from Sir Clive Woodward asking 'Backy, better than winning the World Cup, are you sure?'," the former England flanker told BBC Sport.

"Quite honestly, it would be. When I reflect on my privileged position within that team, you've got to remember where England were.

"They were ranked number one in the world, they were favourites to win the World Cup. England at that time had unlimited resources and had a group of players who were at the peak of their ability.

All we asked of the squad at the start of the year was 'let's look back at the end of the year and not have failed through lack of effort' Leeds head coach Neil Back

"But as a team and a squad at Leeds we've had to deal with a lot of adversity."

Most of that adversity has been because of their financial situation. Having spent two of the previous eight seasons outside the top flight, Leeds only received 60% of the money this year that the other clubs received from organisers of the Premiership.

If they stay up this season, they will receive the full whack next time round, and Back says that would mean an additional £1.4m to help them target a top-six place next year.

"It will make a vast difference to the finances to help us achieve our objectives," added the 41-year-old, who is in his second season at Leeds, having coached them to the old National League One (now Championship) title last year.

"It will give us a little more finance towards players, which is ultimately what we need, on top of everything else we've put in place."

Back is the figurehead for the Leeds resurgence, but he is only too keen to stress that it is a "collective effort" that has seen Leeds on the brink of re-establishing themselves in the Premiership.

He was a famously driven and focused player, qualities he has clearly tried to instil in Leeds, and one illustrious former international team-mate, Richard Hill, is not surprised about the effect he has had at the Headingley outfit.

Back (left) formed a peerless England back row with Dallaglio and Hill

Hill, who was a long-term colleague in the England back row, told BBC Sport: "Leeds have done a tremendous job and there's no doubting that Backy would be at the forefront of that.

"From playing with him, I know how determined he is and how stubborn he can be, but more importantly the driving force he would have been in getting the best out of the players and gelling them together into a team.

"Within the England team we played in, we were very fortunate in terms of leaders. Neil was one of the great leaders and he would have been defensive captain whenever we played.

"He would have made comments and suggestions about improvements, he would have taken a very active role in that area.

"He was always interested in the technical side of things and also wanted to be consulted in terms of the type of training we'd do. Ultimately, he'd be the driving force in training and, more importantly, in games to keep standards high."

Back may have ended his playing days at the very top but he had to battle all the way to get there, and there are strong parallels with his career and Leeds' struggle to establish themselves at English rugby's top table.

In less enlightened times, he was the only state school kid to make the England Schoolboys team, so being an outsider is not a new experience for him.

Our opposition this week are probably the most dangerous because of where they are and what they need out of the game themselves Back on rivals Worcester

The Nottingham-born Back also had to overcome the view that he was too small to play international rugby.

Despite his relative lack of size - at 5ft 10in he is small for a back rower - his refusal to concede the argument saw him go on to forge an England career that lasted for more than a decade and earned him 66 caps.

Having been at the heart of the most powerful club in English rugby union, Leicester, his decision to leave his job as defence coach at the Tigers to become the head coach at financially underpowered Leeds saw him once again on the outside looking in.

The £1.4m bonanza that would enable Carnegie to compete on level terms remains theoretical unless Leeds can avoid the drop, something they took a giant stride towards last weekend when they dealt London Irish's play-off hopes at sizeable blow by winning 23-13 at the Exiles.

That victory lifted them to ninth, six points above rock-bottom Worcester, and significantly changed the mood surrounding Sunday's Headingley encounter between the two sides.

For much of the season, the match had looked like effectively being a winner-takes-all encounter, with the victors set to steal a potentially decisive lead in the table with only one round of games left to play.

Back never showed anything less than total commitment on the field

The win at Irish has changed all that. Worcester are currently five points behind second-from-bottom Sale and, if they lose on Sunday without gaining a bonus point, they will be unable to overhaul the Sharks no matter what happens on the final weekend.

For Leeds, victory would confirm Premiership survival with a game to play, but Back is taking absolutely nothing for granted against a side who have conceded the fewest number of tries among the bottom six and have, in goal-kicking fly-half Willie Walker, the leading points scorer in the Premiership, making discipline a key factor.

"Our opposition this week are probably the most dangerous because of where they are and what they need out of the game themselves," Back reflected.

"They're a team that have finished in the bottom four in four of the past five seasons and in 2005 and 2007 they consolidated their position by winning the last game.

"They're used to the fight, and coupled with that they beat us in round two of the Premiership 27-7, so we know how good they are. We need to be at our best this weekend."

But Back is a winner and just as he overcame the hurdles in his playing career, so he is determined Leeds should transcend the obstacles in their way in the same manner he has always adhered to - work hard, focus and never, ever give up.

"All we asked of the squad at the start of the year was 'let's look back at the end of the year and not have failed through lack of effort'," he continued.

"I don't believe we will fail, because we are putting in the effort."

Come 1630 BST on Sunday, we will now whether that effort has, in this case quite literally, paid off.

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