London: The days are racing past now and, with the World Cup starting next month, even Toby Flood's diversions are dominated by the looming shape of a tournament that will help define his rugby career.

His garden near Market Harborough, Leicestershire, is almost 12,000 miles away from the Otago Stadium in Dunedin, where England play their first match against Argentina on September 10, and so Flood's cheerful musing on the impressive plants and flowers he cultivates turns into a trickier question. Who will mow his lawn as he tries to guide England to a third successive World Cup final?

"Sally, my girlfriend, will look after most of the garden while I'm away," Flood says of his unexpected hobby. "I'm the main gardener because she only recently moved from London and she's still adjusting to country life. But I only got into it because I inherited this beautiful garden from the couple who sold the house to me. They had time to really look after it and I've tried to keep it up.

"I've got astrantia, hollyhock, clematis, lots of lavender, fuchsia, roses, all very bee-friendly, and hydrangeas and peonies, which have come and gone. Sally will weed and prune until the cows come home, but she doesn't cut the grass. It's a big, heavy mower. So maybe I'll to have to train the dog to pull the mower behind him before I leave for New Zealand."

Serious hope

Inspiring an inconsistent England to Flood's ultimate rugby dream, beating the All Blacks in the World Cup final in Auckland on October 23, might prove harder than teaching his dog to mow the lawn. But England's most serious hope rests on Flood's ability at fly-half to unleash an attacking backline to supplement more traditional strengths of forward power and stolid determination.

"That's absolutely the kind of rugby we want to play in this World Cup," Flood says of his preference for an expansive style. "But I'm just one player alongside a whole group that gives us more options. The way the game is officiated now also encourages you to take more risks. With the firepower we've got and Ben Foden, Mark Cueto and Chris Ashton are devastating in space it's important I get the ball to them.

"Look what Australia did to South Africa [the Saturday before last] when Will Genia gave the best performance I've seen in ages. The way he played and kicked, how he ran and marshalled his forwards, allowed Australia to take their opportunities."

Real feel

England have beaten Australia in their last two matches, in Sydney last summer and a few months later at Twickenham. Flood and Ben Youngs, who partners him at Leicester, were scintillating behind the scrum. "Beating Australia in their backyard gives you confidence," Flood says, "and a real feel for our potential."

After crushing Australia 35-18 at home in the autumn England faded against South Africa. They also failed to sustain momentum in the Six Nations winning their first four matches before imploding in Dublin. That uneven record suggests England's best chance might be to match Flood's basic objective.

"Our minimum is to reach the semi-final. After that we can reassess our goals. But New Zealand, at home, have to be favourites. It looks as if all the stars are in their favour. For them it really must feel as if this is the moment."

Yet New Zealand have been overwhelming favourites at the last five World Cups and have blown each one since winning the inaugural tournament at home in 1987.

"The other good thing," says Flood, "is there's no clear second favourite. Scotland beat South Africa, South Africa beat us, we beat Australia. There is a real chance for a team to grab the tournament by the throat like Argentina did in 2007."

Eddie Jones, Australia's former coach, believes Flood and Youngs epitomise England's flaws. Arguing that Youngs is not good to enough to play Test rugby, and that he and Flood are only effective when their pack rumbles forward, Jones' assessment is withering. "I've heard," Flood says.

Consistent performance

"I'm not sure whether it's mind games, as it's obviously easier to play on the front foot. But to say Ben Youngs is not a Test player is unfair. He's 21 and played eight Tests: it's far too early to make any judgment. But the way he played against Australia was pretty sensational.

"We've discussed how we need to stay more consistent. Ben had never played a full international tournament and that takes its toll on the body and mind. It's difficult towards the end of a tournament because everyone is fatigued and you don't want to batter each other in training. Maybe we should have done that before Ireland to keep our intensity. We have to get that right next time.

"But we've got a tough group. In our first match, against Argentina, we're up against a team that finished third in the last World Cup. And the last group match is against Scotland that could be a crunch game."

Argentina will evoke painful memories of Flood's debut in 2006. Coming off the bench, a jittery Flood gave away the interception try that sealed Argentina's shock win at Twickenham and led to Andy Robinson's sacking as England coach a week later.

"I went through a dark couple of days," Flood says. "When you're young you wonder if you'll get back. I was worried I'd never play for England again. I guess the only good thing was that my international career started with my biggest low."