Warriors Transition Coach Sam Vesty admits he is proud of his Worcester Cavaliers side after their spectacular run in the Aviva A League.
Despite being edged 27-19 in the final by Saracens Storm at Sixways on Monday, the coach paid tribute to the work-rate and desire of his side.
He said: “These boys have got great spirit. They’ve played in dry conditions, whizzing it around and scored some super tries but they’ve also had to shove it up their jumper to look after it for 20 minutes in games.
“It’s been an exciting campaign and this group have really excelled. Worcester have never reached this stage of the A League before so we’re proud to have made it this far and we’re just gutted not to win the final.”
Saracens stormed into a 21-0 lead after 26 minutes courtesy of three quick tries but Cavaliers fought back to set-up a tense finale.
And although James Stephenson’s try brought the hosts to within five points, Ben Spencer killed the game with a penalty late on.
And Vesty hailed the kicking game of the Saracens scrum-half.
He continued: “It was very wet and sodden and their nine Spencer bossed the game. He was exceptional.
“If you can put the ball on the money like he did you’re going to force mistakes from opposition players and that’s what they did and that’s what they relied on.
“Sarries are a fantastic team but so were Northampton and Gloucester who came here and we managed to get results against them.
“For us to go toe-to-toe with massive Premiership clubs and beat them shows we are on the right track.”
And the Cavaliers coach insists his role overseeing the young side has been hugely enjoyable thanks to the input of his players.
He added: “Rich de Carpentier was outstanding in the final. He doesn’t know the meaning of the words ‘give up’ or ‘quit’ and that’s a trait this group have all got. They’ve all stood up for this campaign.
“The boys have just given so much back and for that it’s been so enjoyable. They’ve loved it too and that means a lot because if you play with a smile on your face, you work a bit harder and that was evident throughout our whole campaign.”