GROWING speculation suggests former Bath, London Irish and Newcastle Falcons chief Gary Gold will be appointed as the new director of rugby at Worcester Warriors.

The former South African national team assistant coach has been linked with a move to Sixways since the weekend.

It is unclear how any change at Worcester would impact on the roles of head coach Carl Hogg and coaching consultant Phil Davies.

Warriors' officials are still declining to comment.

Hogg was not allowed to answer questions on the club’s rugby and commercial structures at yesterday’s press conference.

It is understood Warriors’ board believed changes were necessary after Worcester’s thumping 55-19 Aviva Premiership derby defeat against Gloucester at Kingsholm on January 7.

Reports suggest there was a flurry of activity in the boardroom over the next week with Gold among the coaches approached.

Chief executive Jim O’Toole has been adamant Warriors would not bring in a new director of rugby after Dean Ryan quit in the summer.

Hogg and high performance director Nick Johnston were given a joint-leadership role after Ryan's departure.

However, the joint leadership role was broken up just days after Warriors were thumped 57-22 at Exeter Chiefs in November.

Hogg was then put in sole charge of rugby affairs with Johnston returning to his orignal role.

However, with Warriors now facing the relegation trapdoor, further changes appear on the way.