Richard Hill has praised the many hidden gems playing in the RFU Championship – and is ready to snap up any ‘Premiership quality players’ that he believes would boost the Warriors squad.
Worcester are gearing up for the start of the league play-offs in the coming weeks, but Hill already also has his eye on the make-up of his playing squad next season.
The Sixways Head Coach has revealed he has been impressed by the talent his Warriors have come up against this season in the second tier and believes many could shine in the English top-flight.
“There are some very good players in the RFU Championship,” said Hill. “When we played Northampton Wanderers in the Aviva A League recently, Dusty Hare, their scout, was here and we were talking about the talent in the league.
“He and I commented on how many good players, particularly in the forwards, there are in this division.
“I think there will be quite a few of these boys who are playing now that will move on up to the Premiership next year. There are some Premiership quality players in our league,
“The margins aren’t that great,” he added. “I always said that you have got one or two special players who you would pay a premium for. If you take someone like Ben Foden at Northampton, for example, he would make a difference in any team as he has that star quality.
“People like Tom Wood – he was on a par with the good players here at Worcester, but he is now playing for Northampton and they’re at the top of the Premiership.”
“It’s just that not a lot of clubs that do their homework in the Championship. It is only the ones that have been there, the like of Northampton and Harlequins and us now because we’ve all been there.
“When you’re down there, you suddenly think ‘there are some good players down here’.
“Other clubs just don’t bother looking. Several have caught my eye, but I won’t mention any names — there have been plenty of good players playing against us, so we’ve got our eye on them.”