Scrum of the Earth /

Made famous for grabbing more air-time than Basketball genius Michael Jordan against Italy in last year’s Six Nations, England’s Toby Flood is excited about hitting new heights under Martin Johnson. A sports law degree beckons, so as long as the diligent fly-half keeps working hard, perhaps even his beloved Newcastle United will pass their exams.

G’day Toby, how are you?

Not too bad thanks. Keeping well…

Must be tough in these plush surroundings?

It’s pretty fancy but it’s made no real difference. The hotel’s more isolated, so it’s meant things are a bit more team-orientated, but the culture and the way we’re going about things is the same.

Has it been easier under Martin Johnson because he understands what it’s like playing in the professional-era?

What’s made it easier has been the fallow week. Normally, on the back of the EDF or premiership games, we’ve been going straight into an autumn international. Having that ‘down’ week, has given the boys a bit more hunger leading up to the game. You rarely get a week off, so having trained a lot more, you want to go out and test yourself because no matter how many plays, patterns or structures you run through, nothing counts until you hit that first tackle.

Dylan [Hartley] says you’re rooming with teammates. Who are you with?

I’m with Borthers. He’s been on good form. He snores a bit mind you, so it can be a bit testing getting to sleep. We don’t really see a lot of each other during the day apart from at training. You’re on your own most of time.

Have any of the skipper’s study hard philosophies been rubbing off on you?

I do read the playbooks and study the opposition. I set aside a certain amount of time, just like I try and allow myself time to chill out, hang out with boys, or go for a coffee. It’s just as, if not, more important than burying your head in the books and learning calls because if you read them over and over again, it can sometimes have a negative impact.

Sounds like you pay a great deal of attention to detail?

I do. Certain things work for different for certain individuals. Learning different techniques and structures and about the opposition is the biggest test i’ve ever had.

If you go in with a blank canvass and play on your natural instructs then that’s awesome - a lot of the guys here have fantastic natural instincts - but studying the opposition, your own performance and the structures takes a lot of effort.

It’s important, especially at 10 or 12, because you end up making a lot of the calls and run them instantly in a Test match. As if calling them on the run wasn’t hard enough.

Would you say you’re a natural learner?

I never found school difficult. I always enjoyed it. The harder I worked, the more I got out of it. When it came to exams, I was never the guy who would sit back and pull out an A. I found that if I tried to wing it, I could probably pull out a C or a B, but I had to work for the higher B’s and A’s. I know that hard work will get me to where I want to be, both on and off the pitch.

You’ve got a business management degree, is there a Dragons Den entry lurking inside you?

Not at the moment. During the 2006 Six Nations, I remember doing my dissertation, which was great because it almost gave me that added extra-responsibility away from rugby.

You have so much downtime nowadays so i’m starting a sports law degree next year. I want to do as much learning as I can, so hopefully by the time i’m 26, i’ll have an idea of what I want to do after rugby.

Your football team could use an international or two - did you watch the Magpies on Monday?

Nah. I heard the score on Tuesday morning, 2-0 was a fantastic result. I’m very happy to be out of the relegation zone.

What the hell has been going on?

It’s just nuts. It has to be a confidence thing. Confidence runs right throughout the squad and if there’s unrest at the top with the chairman, it can often affect the players’ concentration, not to mention their confidence. Without a stable foundation for the boys, I think it’s been quite difficult for them.

Obviously I’m guessing, but Joe Kinnear must have come in and said ‘Look, there’s nothing we can do, so just go out there and play.’ We’ve only lost one since he took over - the Tyne & Wear derby, which was bad enough - and the players seem to be more a lot more positive.

Things can only get better, so hopefully they’ll get it sorted out before the January transfer window, and if the club continues to squeeze its way out of trouble, maybe there is a chance we can kick on, but as long as the credit crunch remains, it’s going to be difficult to sell the club.

Do you blame Mike Ashley?

Mike Ashley had quite a good structure in place. He wasn’t the type of guy, like an Abramovich, who let his millions do the talking. I don’t know if he was responsible for having a director of football in place, but that was what hurt Newcastle the most - the fact that the manager didn’t have control - and that’s exactly what Kevin [Keegan] got annoyed about.

Who’s your favourite player?

When I was growing up, it would have to be David Ginola.

I suppose there are a few similarities - almost Larkham-esque by the way you both like to drift across the park - it’s almost effortless.

That’s very kind of you to say so. I’m not a short stocky player who can blast through things, so I would say i’m more of a glider. Ginola was very talented, one of the biggest players to be overlooked by France. Giving that ball away against Bulgaria and then going onto score and losing the game was cruel. He was awesome.

Do you still head up to St. James’ Park?

I used to go to a few. Perhaps about three or four times a year. Playing at weekends made it difficult to go all of the time but the last one I went to was the 5-1 defeat to Stoke City in the Carling Cup. So, that put an end to me going.

Any memorable Geordie moments?

When they beat Barcelona in the Champions League. I was ball-boy once so I got a great feeling for the atmosphere. I used to play a little bit. I had a break from rugby between nine and eleven years old, it was good fun, but I missed the rugby atmosphere.