​Following my recent entry about nicknames, I had an excellent email from Ian Cockerill who said that his all-time favourite Tigers nickname was that of Aussie back Rod Kafer.

Throughout his time at the club, Kafer was known simply as ‘Dave’.

Apparently it derived from the classic sitcom Only Fools and Horses?

Right from the first episode of the BBC series Trigger, the road sweeper, referred to Rodney Trotter wrongly as ‘Dave’ and that never changed.

Ian explained: “As Rod Kafer was being introduced to the players with the line: “This is Rod”, I think it was Graham Rowntree who chirped up: “Hello Dave” – and it stuck.

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Former Tigers legend Neil Back was conspicuous by his absence last weekend.

In the build-up to his first return to Welford Road as head coach of Leeds, the 40-year-old former flanker was doing no media apart from his Eurosport column.

After the game, director of rugby Andy Key did the post-match press conference instead of Back.

It would have been good to hear what it was like for someone who had given so many memorable years of service to the club, coming back to his old stomping ground.

No doubt Back would have said it wasn’t about him, it was about Leeds.

But on occasions like that, surely, part of the build-up and aftermath of the game are about him.

Shame.

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The press box was a quieter place on Saturday without Richard Cockerill sitting one row in front of it.

The Tigers head coach has been relegated to the stands for four weeks after being found guilty of abusing match officials during the game against Newport on November 14.

Cockerill has admitted that he wrong to say whatever he said to the officials on that day – whatever the extremely extenuating circumstances!

But his passion for the game and his team is infectious.

He is like a jack-in-the-box most weekends at Welford Road, living and breathing every second of play.

In the post-match press conferences, he is honest and articulate and a breath of fresh air in these days of anodyne PR speak from.

I hope his match-day ban doesn’t lessen his passion when he returns.