Leicester boss: Toby Flood is one of the best fly-halfs in the world
Leicester Tigers boss Richard Cockerill came out with huge words of praise for his no.10 Toby Flood on Wednesday, calling him one of the best fly-halfs in the rugby world..
Cockerill recently welcomed Flood, who also plays fly-half for England, back to the squad after the 25-year-old missed six weeks due to a knee injury.
“He is right up there with the likes of Dan Carter, Matt Giteau and Quade Cooper,” said Cockerill to the
Leicester Mercury.
“Who is better than those? Not many. Flood is a very good player, he trained on Monday and Tuesday and having him back gives everyone a lift.”
Comparing the player to Carter, who is New Zealand’s fly-half, and Giteau and Cooper who play the role for Australia, is about the highest praise one can give right now in the rugby world. Carter recently
set the Tri-Nations tournament on fire by leading his team to a 6-0 record, while Australia went a surprising 2-1 against a fearsome Springbok side.
Flood missed round one of the Heineken Cup against Treviso at the last minute because the team’s doctors didn’t feel he was ready, but Cockerill said he should be ready to go.
"He is world-class and it is a huge boost having him back...He was close to playing last week but we didn't want to risk him for obvious reasons."
On Saturday in the Heineken Cup they’ll be taking on the Scarlets. The Tigers are still 1-0 in the pan-European competition after they pulled out a 34-29 win over Treviso, but they’re a disappointing 2-3
thus far in the Premiership. Cockerill is confident his return will ignite the team though, along with the return of Marcos Ayerza, Anthony Allen, Manu Tuilagi and Ben Woods.
"It gives the whole squad confidence with them coming back because the difference between good and world-class players is the speed of thought and how quickly they pick things up," he said.
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