Man with vision: Leicester Tigers fly-half and captain previews the upcoming Midlands derby with Northampton

THIS WEEKEND second place Northampton Saints take on third place Leicester Tigers in the fifth round of the Aviva Premiership at the Tigers’ den, Welford Road.

It will be the first meeting between the two sides since the Premiership final in May in which Tigers were victorious, and for their captain Toby Flood, there will be no love lost in the Midlands on Saturday at 3:15pm.

“It’s the East Midlands derby and it always comes down to a huge contest between two sides who just want to tear into each other. Ever since I’ve been involved at Leicester it’s been the biggest game on the fixture list. People in the surrounding area let you know how important it is. Cockers (Richard Cockerill, Leicester Tigers Director of Rugby) lets you know how important is. Things really get amped up, and I can’t wait.”

Toby was speaking at the home of Bowdon RUFC’s under-12s, near Manchester. They were the lucky recipients of a training session from him as part of a special prize won at last season’s Sale Sharks Land Rover Premiership Rugby Cup.

Read all about Leicester Tigers’ preparation for the Heineken Cup with Toby Flood’s Leicester and England teammate Geoff Parling in the November edition of Rugby World – out now!