Dean Ryan praised his forward pack following Warriors’ 28-20 derby victory over Gloucester Rugby.
Despite youngsters Val Rapava Ruskin, Niall Annett and Nick Schonert up against the experience of John Afoa, Richard Hibbard and Nick Wood, the dominant Warriors came out on top.
And Ryan admitted his delight at the scrum.
He said: “Full credit to Val, Nick and Niall up against such an experienced front row. They did a great job.
“There were a couple of early scrums where they had to work it out but eventually Gloucester were forced to drag off the likes of Afoa, which shows our guys put them under serious pressure.
“Not many would’ve known who Ruskin and Schonert were but they’ve made a serious mark and won the game today.”
The Warriors boss also revealed that the coaches’ homework paid off ahead of the derby, as his side took their chances to secure the win.
He stated: “The coaches were very smart and did a great job negating their kicking game which has been something Gloucester have won a lot of games from.
“We were brave against a big, physical side and I thought we came straight out of the blocks. If we were going to win it we knew we had to move them round and test them and it paid off.
“When we got opportunities, we were clinical and every time we got field position in the first half today we looked threatening.”
Ryan went on to pay tribute to Forwards Coach Mefin Davies and explained: “Mefin is one of the most knowledgeable scrum coaches I’ve ever come across.
“It takes time and now I think we’ve got depth in that area. Jaba Bregvadze was outstanding at hooker last week and now Niall comes in and makes his point.
“We also had James Johnston come on and help finish the game with a scrum penalty so they all know what they’re doing and they know what they want to achieve.”
Warriors have let leads slip this season but Ryan believes his side are now getting better at seeing games out, following three wins in the last four games.
He continued: “We’ve been there that many times at the death, you have to get it right and we’re still getting there.
“We’re always going to be in those situations so let’s keep getting better at them.”
Despite having not picked up more results over the course of the campaign, Ryan is now targeting a third win on the bounce next weekend as his side travel to Twickenham Stoop to face Harlequins.
He added: “This side doesn’t deserve to be in the position it is based on performances but in terms of results it does.
“So it’s been about maintaining those performances under pressure which is crucial and makes me very proud of this young group. They are starting to get reward for it.
“We look a decent team and I’m looking forward to the rest of the games now to test ourselves.
“It’s a long time since we’ve had back-to-back wins so now we’re going to try and make it three in a row.”