Fijian Josh Matavesi can lead the Worcester Warriors great offensive

Worcester boss Richard Hill reckons Josh Matavesi could provide the X-Factor to spark the Warriors’ backline into life.
Hill’s men struggled to cross the whitewash in their first season back in the Premiership but have had no such problems in pre-season.
Matavesi, who signed in the summer from French giants Racing Metro, has been at the heart of that improvement, impressing from the offset and grabbing a try double in the 22-7 win over the Scarlets.
“He’s a talent, there’s no doubt about that,” said Hill. “He’s got the flair and he can do things that other players probably haven’t got the confidence to do.
“He loves his attack. He’s so enthusiastic and he wants the ball – that’s what we need. He’s got that little bit of quality that can open up defences.
“Josh was brought in because he’s an attacking player. In the past we’ve had quite a defensive line-up and we needed to bring in one or two players who have attacking flair, like Josh Drauniniu and David Lemi. They’re players who can create tries out of almost nothing, and Josh is the same.
“He’s settled into the club very quickly. Sometimes when you sign someone who’s been over in France for a season it takes them a little while to settle down but he played well when he came on against the Blues and he had another good game against the Scarlets. He scored a couple of excellent tries so at the moment he looks to be a very good acquisition for us.”
After finishing tenth in the league last season, Hill wants to push for a Heineken Cup spot rather than simply avoid relegation and Matavesi’s extra flair and firepower could prove the difference this time around.
“The club has had seven years in the Premiership and, barring one year where they finished eighth, they’ve been in the bottom four. You don’t want to be there. If you find yourselves there in the first half of the season it becomes a pretty tough year and it’s hard work every week,” added Hill.
“We need to get out of that and into that mid-table region. It’s much more pleasant as coaches, as players and as supporters to be in that top six as opposed to that bottom six.
“We were averaging just one try per game in the league last year. You’re not going to win games consistently – unless it’s pouring with rain – by scoring one try.
“We now look a bit more threatening with ball in hand. We’ve had more attacking opportunities and there are signs there that we can pose a few more threats to the opposition. I’m very optimistic that we’ll be a better team this year.”
MARC HEYWOOD