Worcester Warriors’ home campaign kicks-off on Saturday against London Irish and second row Chris Jones insists that it is going to be a massive game.
Irish, who were beaten by Warriors 35-11 at Sixways last season, suffered an opening-match defeat at home to Saracens last weekend.
Former England international Jones said: “If we could replicate last season’s result it would be fantastic but we can’t go into the game thinking about what has been.
“I saw Irish play last weekend and although the 42-20 scoreline suggests a drumming, they actually played well and they’ve got some big threats – especially out wide.”
Jones marked his 50th appearance for Warriors with his first try for the club in last Sunday’s clash with Leicester Tigers.
And the lock, in his third season since joining from Sale Sharks, continued: “I’ve had no serious injuries to keep me out so I’ve been lucky and managed to keep some consistency.
“It only feels like I arrived here yesterday and I’ve been darting around the pack in the past couple of years, which helps you build-up appearances.”
Warriors boasted an impressive home record last season and will be hoping to produce the same kind of quality to get their first points of the campaign this Saturday.
And Jones believes that it is an opportunity for the new-look side to show what they have been working on in pre-season.
He added: “With our new style of play it’s a first chance to showcase it in front of our home support.
“People start panicking when it gets to Christmas but it’s now where you need to start picking up wins so you can take some of the pressure off.
“When we get the stadium full, it’s a great experience. We’re going to need the fans' support behind us and hopefully we can kick-off our home campaign strongly this weekend.”