Cole Puts Flood's Back Up

Toby Flood, the Leicester and England stand off, not only plays alongside prop Dan Cole for club and country, but also lives with him, and therein lies a story. The 24-year-old Geordie, whose family have strong thespian links, was moaning to me the other day about Cole's grooming habits. Cole, arguably the find of the season in English rugby, lives in a house in Leicester owned and lived in by Flood. The landlord likes to keep his house tidy and clean but, judging by his stories concerning Cole, there's no chance of this happening. "Well, he's pretty messy to start with," Flood began. "Then there's his room. It smells, to put it bluntly. But the worst thing about Coley is the bathroom. He likes to shave his hairs off his chest, his back and even from his knees upwards because he thinks it makes him more streamline. I'm forever finding back hairs in the bathroom. He also likes to moisturise, all the time. Once he asked me if I could moisturise his back. Now, there aren't many things more frightening than having a big prop asking you to moisturise his back in the privacy of a bathroom. I turned down the invitation and pray he never asks me again." Quite!