That continued Flood’s bad luck with injury, having also missed out on this year’s Six Nations with a knee injury.

However he was impressive for club side Leicester as they recorded a comfortable win over London Irish this weekend, and Flood insists his focus has to be on his club rather than breaking back into the England team.

He said: “It was a hugely envious position for me because those guys went out there and beat the All Blacks, which is something I've never done.

"But I'm not fussed about the international side of things right now. We've got a really tough Christmas to consider and for me it's just a case of bedding back down into the side.

"My big aim at the moment is hopefully to get a bit form and feel confident going into our final two Heineken Cup group games against Ospreys and Toulouse.”