The opening round of matches in the Heineken Cup and the narrow margins between success and failure were vividly illustrated by the contrasting fortunes of two international fly halves at the weekend. Toby Flood kicked all his penalty goals, ensuring that Leicester scored a 12-6 win over the Ospreys, while Butch James continued his erratic start to the season by missing three attempts, which denied Bath one of the great wins in their history, away to Toulouse.

With Jonny Wilkinson sidelined until March, Flood’s performance and accuracy from distance in front of John Wells and Mike Ford, the England coaches, probably cemented his place in Martin Johnson’s starting XV this autumn. In which position remains to be seen and may depend on Danny Cipriani’s form. Flood has won 11 of his 18 caps at inside centre and six at fly half. The other was as a replacement full back.

The strike rate of James, a World Cup winner with South Africa a year ago, has fallen to barely more than 50 per cent this season, which must be a concern for Bath, not least after Olly Barkley’s departure to Gloucester. Steve Meehan, the head coach, insists that he will not blame kickers for losing matches. The reality, though, is that had James converted Nick Abendanon’s late try on Sunday, Bath would have returned from Toulouse with at least a draw, leaving them in a strong position in the pool.

Flood is spending at least an hour a day practising with Paul Burke at Leicester, whom he joined from Newcastle Falcons this summer. While he has not reached Wilkinson’s levels of dedication, the Newcastle player’s work ethic appears to have rubbed off on Flood. So, too, his desire to keep out of the limelight. Not for him Cipriani’s penchant for nightclubs and models.

“It is his lifestyle, but for me it is about cracking on, keeping my head down and doing what I want and need to do,” Flood said. “I am not one to shout about things.”