Head Coach Richard Hill has revealed his selection headache up front as the Worcester pack continues to flex its muscles in the RFU Championship.
Hill has named his side for the away trip to Doncaster Knights on Wednesday evening (kick-off 7.30pm) and has selected a powerful front row.
However, he admits it is a position where a number of players are pushing their claims for lots of positive reasons.
“Callum Black has been outstanding at loosehead prop in every game he has played,” said Hill. “But Adam Black has come in and has also been outstanding. On top of that you have Matt Mullan, an England international prop, to come into that selection in February. Selecting one loosehead out of those three will be difficult.
“At hooker, Chris Fortey is playing very well and we already know Aleki Lutui is an outstanding player and Ed Shervington is biting at their heels. There is real good competition.
“The team selection is based on attitude and how they are playing. But it is not always that easy,” he added.
“For example, in the front row if you have got players who talk well with the referee, people like Adam Black and Chris Fortey, that can be to your advantage. You develop a rapport with the officials.
“You go into some games with players who are a little quieter, people like Callum Black, Aleki Lutui, Bruce Douglas. That is the nature of them and they don’t talk that much. Chris Fortey and Adam Black, you can’t shut them up.
“But that can work for you in big games. If you are playing against a good scrummaging team you have got to get on top of that battle.
“I had Mark Regan at Bristol and he would run the game. The opposition would say that he had a big impact, and that can make a difference in tight forward battles. Sometimes you go with people who you know will work in that environment.”
Meanwhile, Hill has revealed he is confident Warriors will make the trip north later this week to face Scottish newcomers Currie in the British & Irish Cup.
Currie have stated they plan to host the game in the Edinburgh region and Hill is keen for the game to go ahead as planned.
He said: “Every team is trying to get these games on – there is a big effort to play them.
“Currie have had about four or five games postponed already so the last thing they want is a game called off.
“Sometimes the elements can win, but at the moment we are reasonable confident that Currie can find somewhere to play up in Edinburgh, even if it is not on their main pitch.
“We could have switched it to Sixways, but we are set for some cold temperatures this weekend here so that is not really realistic.
“I would prefer this game to be on. The players are hungry and enthusiastic to get the game on and I have 33 fit men who need to get game time.”