has the Head coach and squad that he has selected, well as much as he was able to get the recruits he wanted.

The majority of the team are settled players and have a season’s experience of the style of Rugby that MR wants to play. A settled team is a happy team – a winning team?? And what rugby that is – open running and free flowing with a set of backs that finally set the GP alight able to score tries from anywhere on the pitch. Wingers, Miles Benjamin and Marcel Garvey were able to keep World Class Rico Gear on the bench, who would have predicted that when we signed him?

Our first game – Away to Northampton Saints at Franklin’s Gardens, Sunday lunch time live on Sky. There are similarities to be drawn when Worcester as the newly promoted team played it’s first ever premiership game against Newcastle Falcon when a certain Mr Rob Andrew predicted our immediate demise back to the dark depths of ND1 from whence we came. This season it’s Falcons who are widely tipped as relegation material. Of course as deserved winners of ND1 the Saints return with huge premiership experience and are former Heineken cup winners so they are neither complete newcomers to the Guinness Premiership or slouches either. Our own dreams of HC Rugby this season were ended by a street wise Hooker from Bath and a myopic French man.

The two teams have had many epic battles, the last game of our debut premier season – April 2005 and although the lead passed between both sides it was the Warriors emerged triumphant. A bitter sweet moment as we felt the pain of Saints fans who waited on the Quins result where a last kick miss ensured Saints survival in the Premiership. Fast forward two season where after losing to Gloucester and Northampton beating Leicester, Worcester faced almost certain relegation. Unfortunately nobody told us and the team dug deep coming from eight points behind to ensure the two teams desperately battled to avoid relegation, ultimately being decided once again on the final day of the season with Worcester beating Saracens to stay up.

Saints have recruited heavily in comparison to Mike Ruddock’s selected view and wholesale clear out of fringe players. That could well prove an Achilles heel during the early games. A look at the form history would indicate that the Away team has had the advantage of the matches played between the two sides and whilst NO game can be taken for granted and with apologies to our friends in Northampton it is (at best) I feel a very real possibility for Worcester Warriors to win the first game of the season. At worst it means a chance for us to renew old acquaintances and enjoy the company of some of the best and friendliest supporters at an away venue whose very atmosphere and facilities we have been able to emulate at Sixways and after seeing what has been achieved (and yes, still to come) in terms of development since promotion to the hallowed land I for one am a Worcester supporter who feels finally able to shed both the “new boys” and the “relegation fodder” feeling.

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