 Flood joined Leicester in June, following five seasons at Newcastle |
Leicester fly-half Toby Flood says the Tigers have set their sights on a clean sweep of trophies this season. They travel to Cardiff Blues in the EDF Energy Cup on Saturday having already made impressive starts in the Guinness Premiership and Heineken Cup. "We set our squad goals at the start of the season and said we wanted to win everything and be one of the best teams in the world," Flood told BBC Sport. "The EDF Cup is paramount for us - it's a huge tournament with a huge history." The 23-year-old England international insisted Leicester view the EDF Anglo-Welsh Cup as one of their priorities this season. The Tigers are bidding to reach the final for the third straight season, having beaten Ospreys to win the 2007 title before being convincingly beaten by the same opponents a season later.  | The time was right to leave Newcastle - I wanted to see if I was capable of playing at a club with such a huge history and fanbase |
"Everyone at Leicester gets excited about this competition and we really want to go well in it," Flood said. "The strength of the teams in the group means it's effectively knock-out from the start. In terms of priorities, it's right up there." Leicester and the Blues both made winning starts in Group B, despite being handed tricky assignments. Leicester, with South African Derrick Hougaard at fly-half instead of Flood, won 19-15 against Bath, while the Blues beat Sale thanks to a last-minute try from Richard Mustoe. Flood believes the Blues will provide a tough proposition for his side. | Heyneke is a good guy and the players have really enjoyed working with him |
"They are a strong team with good backs and some strong ball carriers in their pack," he said. Leicester have made an impressive start to the season under their new coach, South African Heyneke Meyer. They are second in the Guinness Premiership behind Bath, beat Ospreys in their Heineken Cup opener and have lost just one game so far this season, when they were surprisingly beaten at home by Wasps in the league at the end of September. Flood says he has enjoyed working under Meyer and has had no second thoughts about his decision to leave Newcastle in the summer. "Heyneke is a good guy and the players have really enjoyed working with him, he's a fantastic influence on the squad," he said. "For me, it was a case that the time was right to leave Newcastle. I wanted to see if I was capable of playing at a club with such a huge history and fanbase."
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