Mike Ruddock heaped praise on his young guns after victory over Newcastle Falcons in the LV= Cup – and singled out prop Jack Gilding after the Academy ace shone on only his second start for the senior side.
Home-grown players grabbed the points as Miles Benjamin, Tom Wood, Ollie Frost and Jake Abbott – all products of the Warriors Academy set-up – crossed the whitewash.
And Gilding combined with fellow young prop Callum Black as the Worcester pack showed some real power with three driving maul tries.
“Last week I went into the dressing room and told the players to avenge defeat. There were a number of areas that disappointed me greatly with our performance, although Miles Benjamin in particular was outstanding,” he said.
“This week I went in the changing rooms and I felt we played much better. I was pleased with the result and felt we answered a lot of the questions that were asked of the players.
“In particular I felt Jack Gilding was man-of-the-match for us, our young tight-head prop was outstanding.
“He is still learning and coming through, but that was a big test for him today to go 80 minutes against some very experienced players.
“We’re delighted as there are not many tightheads around. To see one of your own coming through, and playing a big part in the game, was very rewarding.
“We had a number of guys out there who were Academy products and that didn’t escape me when I looked back at the game on the final whistle.
“People like Ollie Frost came on and scored a great try and Woody got a score. You look through the team and you have Callum Black and Jack Gilding in the front row, Will Bowley in the second row and Jake Abbott in the back row with Woody. Frosty and George Crook coming on and, of course, people like Miles Benjamin playing.
“It is very rewarding to see our own guys coming through and really stepping up to the mark.
“They have got plenty of goals to achieve and have lots of inspiration at the moment when they have people like Matt Mullan doing so well and getting in the Saxons squad, even though he is injured at the moment, and Alex Grove getting into the national squad for Scotland.
“It is great to see the guys going on and being recognised at international level. Hopefully that will continue with a few more of these guys in the months and years ahead.”