Mike Ruddock has spoken of his delight over the talent breaking through at Sixways and admits his young guns could yet hand him a selection headache this season.
Warriors have been back in training since early June and Director of Rugby Ruddock has been pleased with the progress of his new-look squad.
But while the first-team stars have impressed the new boss at Sixways the young members of the Warriors set-up have also been making a real name for themselves.
“I’ve been so encouraged by the young players we have here and the Academy boys, they have some real talent and are keen to impress and force their way into my thinking,” he said.
“Training has thrown up a number of young guys who are standing up and making me take notice of them. There are some real potential stars of the future in this club.
“Chris Pennell is every inch a fine young prospect and Tom Wood has looked very good, he is a powerful back row forward who always impresses me in training.
“We have some real good young players with the likes of Jonny Arr, Miles Benjamin, Joe Carlisle, Craig Everett, Alex Grove, Matt Mullan, Charlie Fellows and Gareth Morgan at this club.
“Pre-season has been a good opportunity for them to push themselves forward as they train with the first team and they have been a real credit to the work we do in the Academy.”
Ruddock has spoken of his desire to expand the game plan at Sixways next season and believes his players have shown good progress and have bought into that ethos.
But he admits his squad still has hard work in front of them with just over a month until the Guinness Premiership season kicks off away at Bath.
“I’ve been very pleased with the way training has gone,” he added. “I’ve met with our conditioning coach Keir Hansen to get an update and a number of the team have hit personal bests on fitness tests which is great to hear.
“As a coaching team we feel we’ve really made progress with the skill level and style of rugby we hope to play next season.
“We feel we’ve covered a lot of ground but there is still work to do before the big kick-off to make sure we get where we want to be. The players know that and are still working very hard.”