Wing Marcel Garvey thanked young centre Andy Short for his hat-trick against Plymouth Albion in pre-season – and hailed the firepower now on show at Worcester Warriors.
Garvey was given his first run out of the new campaign and impressed ahead of the Aviva Premiership kick-off with a blistering hat-trick in less than half an hour at Brickfields.
However, the red-hot wide man refused to take the credit for his top treble and instead was quick to praise England Under-20 star Short who played a big part in all three of his scores.
“Shorty had a good game in both defence and attack,” said Garvey. “Phil Larder mentioned last week in a meeting that he stood out in defence when he came on and I think he has grown as a player since last season.
“He was involved in the England Under-20s last summer and playing at that level has helped him, he has a very good future ahead of him.
“It was a good team performance,” he added. “My tries were just about running it in after Shorty’s breaks, but it was good to get on the score sheet.
“The boys looked good, controlled in attack and we have just got to build on that when we face Argentina on Tuesday night.
“We have a lot of firepower out wide and as a squad we are all fighting for a place. The completion for places pushes everyone forward. We are in a good place at the moment.
“The group of wingers that we have got, and back three, are a really tight knit group. Back three players get on and we enjoy each other’s company and ourselves outside of the club. That helps us put performances on the pitch.
“It would be nice to now get a run out against Argentina. England have them in the World Cup so to play against them, and potentially get a major scalp, is a fantastic fixture for us. We are all looking forward to it.”