The quiet man finally in with a shout

Toby Flood missed out on the last World Cup squad for not being vocal enough. He explained to Chris Hewett why he can now express himself at No 1

There may yet come a time when Toby Flood strings together a run of games as England's outside-half, but just at the moment he does not feel able to look beyond the meeting with Ireland at Croke Park on Saturday night. This is entirely understandable. These are testing times for those who would wear No 10 for their country – the shirt changes hands more often than the Rugby Football Union changes its mind on bidding for the 2015 World Cup – and it would be the height of presumption for any of half-a-dozen contenders to consider himself better than the next bloke.

Jonny Wilkinson, Charlie Hodgson, Olly Barkley, Danny Cipriani, Andy Goode, Uncle Tom Cobleigh – you name them, they've all had a go. Flood too, albeit on a strict two-games-at-a-time basis. He looked distinctly useful against France at Twickenham a couple of years ago, when Brian Ashton pensioned off some old-stagers and went for the "sweet bird of youth" approach, and backed that up with a courageous display in adversity against the Welsh in Cardiff. Four months or so later, he was chucked out of the World Cup squad, apparently for being too quiet. As one coach, aghast at the decision, remarked at the time: "There are nearly 40 of the buggers out there, all shouting the odds. Toby doesn't want to talk about it; he wants to do it. Anyway, he couldn't get a word in edgeways if he tried."

Now, he is back in favour. If truth be told, he would have started against Italy in the opening round of the Six Nations Championship but for minor injury issues that prevented him training. Goode, off the radar in mid-France until very recently, filled the gap left by Flood's dodgy calf muscle and Cipriani's inability to kick a ball over a defender rather than straight into him, and cashed in on his luck by scoring one try and playing a major part in two more. He was far from undroppable, but Martin Johnson stuck with him for the visit to the Millennium Stadium 12 days ago.

"I'd be comfortable with either of them in Dublin: there's not really much that one guy does and the other doesn't," the England manager said yesterday. "But Toby is playing well in a high-pressure environment at Leicester and he's trained well with us too. We're looking for composure at No 10, for consistency of performance. He's been around the international scene for two or three years now and I see this as his chance to nail down the position. Pulling the strings at international level is a big responsibility, and players have to experience a range of things – go through the ups and downs – before they can make the role theirs. We're looking to Toby to take it forward now."

Flood has spent much of his England career at inside centre, but that is hardly a handicap. Quite the opposite, in fact: Michael Lynagh and Daniel Carter also performed a tour of duty at No 12, and if it was good enough for them, it's good enough for anyone. Will this be the moment the 23-year-old finally stands up to be counted as a playmaking outside-half of true international quality? He appears to believe it possible, even though he is not counting his chickens ahead of the meeting with the French in a little over a fortnight.

"Yes, I think it's time I put up my hand and made my mark," he agreed. "I'm opposite Ronan O'Gara this weekend, and that represents a major challenge. He has 90 caps now, which is a testament to his ability, and I know what to expect from him: a fine kicking game and excellent management skills. He's one of the best in the world, so I have to see this as an opportunity to prove myself."

He has not always been burdened with the goal-kicking duties while playing for England, and the lack of marksmanship experience was there for all to see when he misjudged an important penalty deep in the final quarter against Wales in the last round of matches. "That annoyed me," he admitted. "The moment it left my boot, I thought it was going straight down the middle. Still, there's nothing I can do about it now."

Certainly, there was nothing much he could do about England's demise on their only previous visit to Croke Park – a 40-point towelling in 2007 that led directly to his selection for a first international start a fortnight later.

"I was on the bench and didn't get on, which was probably a blessing," he recalled. "Funny as it sounds, though, I still see it as my favourite Six Nations game. The atmosphere, the whole occasion – it was something special, and I'll always remember it. It will be special again this weekend. The trick will be not to get drawn into it."