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02nd Apr 2015

Did they really just tweet out Neil Back’s number there lads?

To the texting machines now!

JOE

Munster fans know him well.

Did the Heineken lads just reveal something they weren’t supposed to? Neil Back. You know him, right?

For Republic of Ireland football fans, think Thierry Henry. For Munster rugby fans, think Neil Back. Both men have been the bogeyman as far as Ireland and Munster go.

We all know what Henry did on that fateful night in Paris, but for those not of a rugby persuasion, you might not have heard why Neil Back is so demonised by the men of Munster.

Henry2

It was the closing minutes of the Heineken Cup Final in 2002 between Leicester and Munster. The Munster team trailed by 15-9.

They were in a very attacking position close to the Leicester line and Peter Stringer, the diminutive Munster and Ireland scrum-half stepped up to put the ball into the scrum.

Peter Stringer of Munster

The ref was on the other side of the scrum and Neil Back seized his opportunity by illegally slapping the ball back onto the safety of his side of the scrum.

Leicester had possession and within seconds had kicked the ball to touch and the match was over, Leicester victorious.

So you can imagine how angry they were when they saw what actually happened. We can’t be 100% sure if that tweet from Heineken really is Neil Back’s number, but sure what the hell? A few playful dig texts can’t do any harm, right? RIGHT?!

heinotweet

Our eagle-eyed Eric Lalor thought it was a joke:

Obviously, being the messer he is, he just had to text:

So, he did:

We shall await with great interest to see what comes of this!

UPDATE – It looks like the lads in Heineken have realised the error of their ways: