Andrew Stanley has revealed long-term injury absentee Michael Penn is set to make his comeback in the British & Irish Cup clash with Leinster in Ireland as Warriors look to maintain impetus in the competition at Donnybrook on Sunday (kick-off 1pm).
Worcester opened Pool A with a comprehensive 58-10 victory over Newport Rugby before the away game at Currie was called off due to adverse weather conditions.
Head of Skill Development and Academy Manager Stanley and Gary Meechan will again head up operations this week as Warriors jet out to Ireland aiming to build on the opening win.
And among the players being given the chance to impress will be full back Penn who has been ruled out with a knee injury since last summer.
“It will be nice to see Michael Penn after he has come back from a long lay-off with injury. He will get an opportunity and we are looking forward to seeing him play,” said Stanley.
“It will be a mixture of experience and youth, that has worked well in the past so hopefully we will take that into the game on Sunday.
“There is still a lot of experience out there. Adam Balding, Willie Walker and Tevita Taumoepeau will make the trip and they have played rugby together throughout the season. Most of the other boys have played during the Aviva A League campaign or through the Championship push.”
Top class rugby action is set to takeover Dublin this weekend with Leinster in Heineken Cup action with Saracens on Saturday before Warriors face Leinster A at Donnybrook on Sunday.
Stanley admits it will be a rugby carnival in the Irish city and that is expects interest in the British & Irish Cup to continue to grow in the coming months.
“It’s a big weekend in Dublin with Leinster against Saracens the day before, hopefully that will transfer into a few people coming down to Donnybrook and watching us on the Sunday,” he said.
“We had a decent crowd here at Sixways for the opening game with Newport and a positive response. We played some attractive rugby and we had good TV coverage with S4C here too.
“Hopefully the further we are able to progress in the competition the interest will grow. But we have got to do the job right first and make sure that we give it enough respect and commitment to get to the latter stages.”
Stanley also revealed that Head Coach Richard Hill will make the trip to Dublin to look closely at his options as players look to force their way into his RFU Championship team plans.
“Richard will go to the game and is keen to assess what kind of form the players are in ahead of a potential step up to the first team and RFU Championship,” added Stan.
“There are a couple of weeks for players who have not perhaps had the game time the last few games to put a bit of form together and put their hand up to make Richard’s life difficult with selection.”