Hot property Graham Kitchener is planning to use the inspirational experience of his summer tour with England Saxons to ensure his career at Warriors keeps moving forward.
Lock star Kitchener – one of the most highly rated second rows in English rugby – has this week returned to pre-season training at Sixways after playing his part in another summer of England heroics.
The 20-year-old was a key member of the England Under 20 squad in 2009 that reached the final of the Junior World Championships in Japan.
The home-grown ace again passed up the beach for international rugby this summer by jetting off to the United States to help England Saxons claim a fifth Churchill Cup title by beating Canada.
And Academy product Kitchener is now keen to use his latest summer of success to boost his place in the Sixways set-up.
“The summer tour was a great experience,” said Kitchener, who made 23 appearances for Warriors last season.
“The rugby was fantastic and I got to meet new players and see different countries in action.
“It is an experience that I feel can inspire me and really freshen me up. At my age you can learn so much from the people around you and I want to bring it back to Sixways and put it into my game.
“We had some fast running games and I really enjoyed that, it was a different sort of style to how we played at times last seasons.
“I got my hands on the ball a lot and that suits my game. I like playing that way and it is something I hope I can take into the Championship.
“Getting to see places like New York for a week was a bonus too. Denver was a lovely place with the Rockies too. I loved it and winning the competition was the perfect end.”
Kitchener has checked back into Sixways under a new regime with Head Coach Richard Hill now firmly installed in the hotseat.
And the Bromley-born forward admits his early impressions in the first few days have been hugely positive.
“It’s great to be back and I’m really enjoying it,” he added. “It’s a fresh start and what the club needs. Everyone realised that we needed a shake-up and we appreciate the work that has gone into taking things forward.
“Everyone is buying into that and it seems to be going really well. It’s my first week in and there are plenty of new faces and names to learn.
“We have some good, friendly lads and they are already getting stuck in which is just what we need. I’m sure they will be really good additions to the team.
“The new boss has been very thorough in how he has gone about every aspect of training and these pre-season weeks we have ahead.
“He has his plans for the future and I think he is just what the club needed. He is a tough guy too and maybe in the short term that means we all work harder – but that is exactly what we need with such a demanding year ahead.”
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