Flood: Scorches clear for his try

Flood scored 24 points, including an interception try, as Leicester staged a storming finish to beat Welford Road visitors the Ospreys 39-22 in bonus point fashion.

After last weekend's defeat in Toulouse, it was just what the Tigers needed to keep themselves in Pool Two contention.

Fly-half Flood complemented his try with five penalties - including one from well inside his own half - and two conversions, while centre Manu Tuilagi (2) and scrum-half Ben Youngs added further touchdowns.

"I think Toby gets a lot of unfair criticism," Cockerill said.

"He's played 50-odd Tests for England. He is a really good player."

Flood faces a battle for the England number 10 shirt in their autumn international campaign next month, but on today's evidence it is a challenge he is relishing.

"We knew if we got the basics right we would be there or thereabouts," Flood said.

"We feel we have the fitness and ability to hurt teams in the last 20 minutes. That is the mentality we've got.

"After being written off - the English clubs generally - Quins have had a fantastic start to the Heineken Cup, so have Saracens, and that win today was massive for us.

"The pool is very much open and there is still a good chance we can hit the last two games in January in a positive manner knowing very much what we need to do."

Flood apart, Youngs was also at the heart of Leicester's performance, his contribution coming just a week after his snap decision to run a penalty backfired and gave Toulouse priceless momentum as they posted a 23-9 success.

"It has worked more times than it hasn't, and I am not going to change the way I play," Youngs said.

"I got it wrong against Toulouse, but I have got some real good people around me and we blame ourselves collectively. We gave a lot of penalties away against Toulouse."

And Cockerill added: "We know Ben is an outstanding player. He is one of the biggest threats around when he makes those calls right.

"Last week, in a certain circumstance, he made the wrong decision. He knows that.

"The game was frantic at times today. We gave away too many kickable penalties against a very good goalkicker, but so did they.

"It was the result we needed. The attitude of the players was outstanding. They wanted to play and work as hard as they could to get the result.

"At 10-0 down we kept our composure really well and played ourselves back into it. Ospreys started very strongly, but we got back into it and the tide started to turn."

It was rough luck on Dan Biggar for conceding the Flood try, as he also made a high-class contribution with 17 points that included the conversion of flanker Ryan Jones' early try.

But Leicester secured an unlikely bonus point triumph with a blistering onslaught of 20 points in the last 18 minutes to leave the Ospreys shell-shocked.

The closing stages showcased Leicester at their finest, sensing an unlikely maximum points haul when they could have just settled for a hard-earned win.

Youngs, a thorn in the Ospreys' side all afternoon, continued to cajole his team-mates, and he inspired the late flourish by sprinting over for a try after Tigers' attackers made the most of a kind bounce.

And there was worse to come for the Ospreys with the last play of a gripping encounter when flanker Steve Mafi was held up short, but Tuilagi gathered possession and gleefully dived over to send a 20,000 crowd wild.