NUMBER eight Richard de Carpentier says Worcester Warriors will need to step up a level in the semi-finals of the British and Irish Cup.

Warriors are in the hat for the draw, alongside holders Leinster ‘A’, rivals Bristol and Doncaster Knights, after recording a hard-fought 24-10 win against Pontypridd at Sixways.

Dean Hammond’s try after just 47 seconds put Warriors on their way and the hosts swept into a 21-3 lead inside 18 minutes.

Despite dominating the second-half, Warriors could not add to their first-half tally and the Welsh side scored a converted try in the second period to delight their large following.

“We put pressure on from kick-chase and when we made breaks we were clinical in the first-half,” said de Carpentier.

“I am not saying we took our foot off the pedal but our accuracy definitely dropped as the game wore on and that’s something we will be working on in training.

“The side we put out was pretty young and it has been a learning curve for all of us.”

Pontypridd’s large travelling support swelled the 4,605 crowd at Sixways for Saturday’s quarter-final tie and helped to create the best atmosphere at the ground this season.

“I thought Ponty’s fans brought the best out of the Worcester supporters,” said de Carpentier.

“It felt like the best atmosphere we have had this season. The noise was amazing and I think that is what kept Ponty alive as well. It was a really good atmosphere to play in.”

Warriors have now won seven successive matches in the competition and de Carpentier admits he isn’t too concerned who Worcester are drawn against in the last four.

“We are not too bothered who we get, because we are concentrating on ourselves, especially after the accuracy in the first 20 minutes,” said de Carpentier.

“It doesn’t matter who we rock up against in the semi-final. We need to be better and I think the boys know that and that’s the over-riding message from the camp.I think a drop in accuracy has been a recurring theme in the season.

“Just focusing on winning is not good enough. We want to push ourselves and we’re competing against ourselves to get better and we could definitely have been better on Saturday.”