HAVING previously played together as an England half-back pairing, Warriors scrum-half Paul Hodgson is confident the vast experience he and fly-half Andy Goode possess can be a real asset to Worcester.

Although they have only combined in a handful of games for the Sixways side so far, there are already signs of a fruitful partnership behind the pack.

The ex-international duo linked superbly for Goode’s well-taken try down the short side in the 23-16 Aviva Premiership victory over Sale and Hodgson believes there is plenty more to come.

He said: “There is a lot of experience between the two of us, we know the game pretty well and we can hopefully take advantage of that.

“The try against Sale came from great work from the forwards to create a good driving platform and it was only by them being so dominant that Goodey and I could work off it for that score.

“Goodey and I were in the England mix in 2010 and went on the Argentina tour and played together.

“We have a good understanding but I also felt that instantly with Joe (Carlisle) too in the two European games recently.”

Although Warriors were not at their best in the win over Sale at the end of last month, they were able to grind out a victory, something they have struggled to do in the past, and Hodgson sees that as a sign of the improvements being made at Sixways.

He added: “It is a sign of a good team that they can still win when they don’t play at their best. We know there are things to work on and we must put what we’ve done in the week into the games.

“The perfect performance is nigh-on impossible, but we strive to be as good as we can be and that is what’s very good at this place. Everyone is striving in their own positions to make that possible.

“My personal thing is making sure your individual performance is as good as it can be to try and fit in with the team performance.”