Friday, July 30, 2010

Leicester 33 Gloucester 11: Flood washes afar the harm of England rejecting

Toby Flood has returned to the England camp, buoyed by guiding Leicester to their latest Welford Road demolition, this time over Gloucester.

Flood needed his day off from Six Nations duty to rid himself of the frustration at being on the bench throughout Englands stuttering attempts to beat Italy.

He described his lack of action as ;disheartening but quickly added that it was part of the job and that he relished his day release from England duties to lead the Leicester line.

LEICESTER

Demolition job: Toby Flood was back in action for Leicester after missing out on England"s win against Italy

;Its the worst position in a team to be the unused sub, but its just the way the game goes. You just have to sit there and take it, he said.

;So it was good to get some game time, although it is difficult to switch your mind back up to Leicester.

Flood showed for Leicester why he offers a viable alternative to Jonny Wilkinson if manager Martin Johnson opts for a more creative No 10 for Englands game against Ireland at Twickenham on Saturday.

;Hes a threat to the line and hes different from some of the 10s England have got but thats a choice for Martin, said Leicester head coach Richard Cockerill.

;Floody will kick well, he will run the ball and hes a threat. Sometimes that gets you in more trouble than you would like but he played well and if England want to start him hes more than good enough.

Flood kicked 18 points and made Leicesters first try for Lote Tuqiri, in the 36th minute, by producing a neat inside pass to put the wing clear.

By then Flood had started to demonstrate his versatility by moving to inside centre to cover for his injured England colleague Dan Hipkiss, who had twisted his ankle.

Leicester made the game safe three minutes into the second half when another Twickenham contender, Geordan Murphy, raced through to show Irelands management that he has fully recovered from shoulder surgery.

And despite having played only one full match, Murphy was last night included in the 32-man squad to face England alongside Keith Earls as they fight for the full-back spot following injury to Rob Kearney against France.

Ben Youngs

Break through: Ben Youngs races away for Leicester"s third try

He is one senior international looking to stay at Leicester as he is close to agreeing a new three-year contract, while two other long-serving Tigers in Lewis Moody and Ben Kay consider offers to play in France.

;Ive been loyal to Leicester and theyve been loyal to me throughout my career, added Murphy. He looked sharp and agile behind a Leicester pack that dominated from midway into the first half.

The victory by three tries to one left Gloucesters assistant coach Denis Betts marvelling at the home forwards.

;The beast got us, the Leicester beast, Betts said. ;You come with hope and with ambition but you have to perform and they out-performed us.

Betts was heartened at the Premiership debut of England Under 20 centre Jonny May. He scored Gloucesters only try, neatly finishing off a second-half counter-attack.

Another youngster on the rise is Leicester scrum-half Ben Youngs. His try, two minutes from time, was a brilliant effort any No 9 would have been proud to claim.

Wales last night called up fit-again Sale scrum-half Dwayne Peel for Fridays Six Nations match against France in Cardiff. He replaces Scarlets Martin Roberts in the squad. More...England reject Cipriani heads Down Under to rebuild career with MelbourneSIX NATIONS 2010: James Haskell admits - I tried to be Lawrence Dallaglio and Joe Worsley rolled into one. It just didnt workJohnno stands by Wilkinson and blasts critics for working to "their own agenda"Leicester 33 Gloucester 11: Flood washes away the hurt of England rejection

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