COACH Adrian Skeggs paid tribute to his Worcester players after seeing them go seven points clear at the top of National League Division One.

The director of coaching at Sixways was delighted with his team's performance as they swept aside Coventry 34-17 on Saturday at Barkers Butts Lane.

Worcester had not beaten the East Midland side for three years on their home soil and Skeggs was well aware of the achievement.

He said: "I was really, really happy with them today. I take my hat off to Coventry because they played on emotion -- with their hearts on their sleeves -- but we stuck to our task and controlled most of the game.

"We had a disappointing spell midway through the second half where we let ourselves down a bit but I think this is a good win for us considering our record here in recent years."

The Aussie was particularly pleased with Worcester's bright start -- taking just 43 SECONDS to penetrate Coventry's defence with a Matthew Back try.

Skeggs was critical of his side after last week's tight win over Bedford but found a number of positives to pull out of the Coventry victory.

He said: "I was delighted because we began the match in the right frame of mind and with the right tempo. It was completely different to the Bedford performance."

However, the former Harlequins man still believed there was a lot more to come from his side, which included a debut for Scottish international flanker Cameron Mather.

He said: "We turned a molehill into a mountain during the second half when we lost our cool and stopped doing the basics well.

"We let them get closer to us than we should have and could have paid for it. We could have scored 10 tries against Coventry today and we also conceded 17 points, so there is plenty to work on.

"It's definitely coming but we need to work harder when the opposition have the ball and not give away penalties.

"Just good kicking and passing will win you games in this league."

Skeggs was happy with Mather's contribution but believed there was still much more to come from the 28-year-old.

He added: "Cameron has not been playing for a while now so it will take a little longer for him to get used to it."