Bristol will be the acid test for Warriors

Yet director of rugby Dean Ryan is still striving for improvement as the play-offs loom ever larger.

For, despite their impressive record, Warriors remain a work in progress and are far from the finished article.

They have played some excellent rugby at times this season, with the likes of Ryan Mills and Andy Symons (pictured above) being instrumental, and a number of games have been one-sided as a result.

However, recent victories over Plymouth Albion and Bedford Blues have followed a similar pattern of Worcester starting slowly before overpowering their opponents in the latter stages.

So superior are Warriors when it comes to fitness levels compared to most other teams in the Championship, that it is often only a matter of time before they wear opponents down.

In other words, Ryan’s men are getting the job done one way or another, and their league position is testament to that.

The trouble is it is difficult to produce your best when playing against sides that aren’t as good as you.

Worcester have been so dominant in some matches, such as against Cornish Pirates, Moseley, Nottingham and Rotherham, that they could be accused of mentally switching off once the result has not been in doubt.

That might not be what Ryan and staff want but, for all the coaching in the world, the best teams come to the fore when they are pushed to the limits and getting over the psychological barrier when they’re not isn’t easy.

For Worcester, all their matches so far have been a dress-rehearsal for the play-offs and the seemingly inevitable final against Bristol, the only other team capable of troubling them over 80 minutes, in May.

Indeed, it will only be against Bristol, first on the final day of the regular season and then the play-offs, when we will truly see how good Warriors have become.

Until then, all the Sixways side can do is be as best prepared as possible for when it really matters and the prize of promotion is on the line.