Warriors Backs Coach Sam Vesty insists his young Warriors will have learnt a great deal from their trip to Moscow this weekend.
Despite their 19-12 defeat to Enisei-STM, Vesty, who has taken charge of Warriors for the European Challenge Cup campaign, believes the experience for the youngsters will be of great benefit to their development.
He explained: “They will have learnt a lot. A lot of those young guys playing modern-day rugby will have learnt to play at some nice places where they’ve got fast tracks and the changing rooms are good and they’re looked after.
“It’s a great learning curve to come away to somewhere like this where things are different, where everyone learns a lot about themselves and what rugby is all about.
“If you take away all the glitz and the glamour this is what you get so it’s been a great learning tool for everyone.
“These boys will get more opportunities across the competition. We’ve reaped the benefits of this in the past and entertaining Brive at home next week is another different opportunity for them.
“Part of growing up and being a good rugby player is being adaptable. As an Academy youngster, to get a chance to play a French side or a Russian side is very different from playing other academies so it’s great for their development.”
Warriors’ 23-man squad on Saturday had an average age of just 22 – with the most senior player, Ryan Lamb (30), playing just seven minutes while Jamie Shillcock was off the field.
And with five players making their Club debuts, Vesty admitted he was pleased with his young group despite the result.
He continued: “I’m frustrated not to come away with the win but I’m proud of what our young group put out there on the pitch against what was a big, strong Russian side.
“We were out-muscled at vital periods of the game and I think that’s what cost us in the end.
“Considering we had five guys making debuts and a backline finishing with almost nobody in their proper position, there were some real positives as we did create a number of chances to win that game but it’s just frustrating that we didn’t finish them off.
“It wasn’t a great start but we created opportunities throughout and we did well to manage the momentum back off of them in the first-half, to get on the scoreboard and to have some territory and possession.
“It was an old school game on a small pitch against a very powerful side and it’s all about exerting pressure on the opposition.
“If you spend several minutes with the ball in your opponents’ half then good things will happen but we just let a few mistakes in at crucial times and coughed up chances that if you take then the result probably looks after itself.”
Warriors take on French Top 14 side Brive at Sixways on Saturday (kick-off 3pm) and Vesty says his side have already been doing their homework.
He added: “We’ve done a bit of homework already. Brive have got a big set of powerful forwards and they’re very French in the way they move and kick the ball.
“It could be a very slow game one minute and then suddenly it could become fast and furious. They have some individuals who can cause some mayhem so they’ll be dangerous.”
You can watch Warriors vs Brive at Sixways from just £10 for Adults and £5 for Juniors by clicking here, calling 01905 459309 or visiting the Ticket Office.