THE early captures of Bryce Heem and Nick Schonert have given Worcester Warriors a “fantastic flagship” for contract talks with other squad members, insists head coach Carl Hogg.

Wing Heem and tighthead prop Schonert have put pen to paper to sign new deals at Sixways and Warriors will be reviewing the squad “over the next month to six weeks”.

Schonert and Heem were two of Warriors’ stand-out performers last season and Hogg is delighted both have already committed their futures to the club.

“We are looking at the whole squad over the next month to six weeks and it’s great to have people like Bryce (Heem) and Nick (Schonert) to come early,” said Hogg.

“They have come to us and said they wanted to stay and it’s a fantastic flagship for us going forward.”

Heem is sidelined with a knee injury but won the club’s Franco Florenzi player of the season award in his first campaign at Sixways.

The New Zealander arrived from Super Rugby side Waikato Chiefs last November and has bagged seven tries in 18 appearances.

Schonert joined from Super Rugby Cheetahs in 2014 and has started in 42 of his 43 appearances in the pack.

Loosehead prop Val Rapava Ruskin is among a list of players of whom Warriors will be determined to keep hold.

Hogg is keen admirer of the Georgian-born powerhouse who becomes an English-qualified player in 2017.

Ruskin’s father George played international rugby with Georgia but the prop is believed to be eyeing an opening with the Red Rose.

Hogg hailed Ruskin as a “phenomenal athlete” capable of “jackal” turnovers after he starred in Warriors’ 23-23 draw against Gloucester earlier this month.

Hogg said: “Val wants to concentrate on his rugby and he’s doing a tremendous job.

“He’s someone like Nick (Schonert) who has come into this environment and has got better and better.

"He has grown over the last seven months in the Premiership and is becoming a quality player.

“Val is a real asset for us, along with Nick, and these are the type of players we want to bring into our system who we want to develop to maximise their potential."

Hogg added: "The ultimate goal is to get a Nick or a Val through our system to play international rugby.”