England coach Clive Woodward had said that he would only consider those players committed to the summer tour for this Six Nations campaign. As far as Back was concerned that was a continent too far.

The player who won the last of his 66 caps in the World Cup final will now pour all his energies into club rugby with Leicester Tigers.

Meanwhile, anyone looking for international tickets will have to look further than Ben Cohen who has had his allocation stopped after it was found that a ticket he had received had ended up with an unofficial ticket agency.

The RFU have accepted that it was a genuine mistake and that Cohen did not sell the ticket for profit but that he was responsible for it and therefore must suffer some sanction.

In the English Cup, the Pertemps Bees who sensationally disposed of Gloucester in the last round, had their dream of glory ended in no uncertain manner when they went down 53-3 to Newcastle Falcons.