WHAT a difference six weeks makes.

There were genuine fears about Worcester Warriors’ Aviva Premiership survival after February’s dismal showing in a 20-13 defeat against London Irish.

After squandering a winning position at Wasps and without a victory since November, at that point it was hard to see where Worcester’s next triumph would come from.

But, after toppling Harlequins 21-15 on their own patch to seal a fourth win in five matches, there is a genuine belief around Sixways.

Warriors’ Premiership survival mission hasn’t yet been accomplished but their deserved triumph at Twickenham Stoop felt like a coming-of-age moment.

Warriors had previously lost their last 15 Premiership matches to Quins and failed to win three successive top-tier games since March 2007.

Admittedly, Quins were shorn of big-name players like Chris Robshaw, Jamie Roberts and Mike Brown but Warriors were the better side and the hosts rarely threatened the try-line.

Perhaps the visitors had a big slice of luck from a refereeing decision for their second try – and the majority of the 12,955 crowd thought they did.

But, with a bit more composure in attack, Warriors would have beaten the London club by a much bigger margin than just six points.

And the Warriors pack – who came in for heavy criticism at the start of the season – should be applauded for their set-piece improvement and work-rate.

Clearly, the arrival last month of South African scrum-half Francois Hougaard has breathed new confidence into Warriors.

But, importantly, the players around him have stepped up a notch and the back-line looks a handful for any defence in the top tier.

Again, Hougaard’s tenacity, speed of thought and delivery cannot be ignored but flanker Carl Kirwan gave an all-action display in his best performance in a Warriors shirt.

Veterans Phil Dowson and Donncha O’Callaghan were at their most aggressive and skipper Gerrit-Jan van Velze seems to have more freedom to get over the gain-line.

Fly-half Tom Heathcote remains a steady influence and a frustration.

He missed a penalty in front of the posts at the death, which could have dashed any hopes of a Quins comeback.

Quins fly-half Ben Botica kept his side in contention with five penalties and traded two three-pointers with Heathcote in the opening 14 minutes as the scores were tied 6-6.

But Warriors looked more threatening and, after a spell of multi-phase pressure, Wynand Olivier brushed aside tackles from Harry Sloan and Ross Chisholm to score in the 20th minute.

Warriors chief Dean Ryan has often bemoaned refereeing decisions and his side had a stroke of good fortune 10 minutes later.

Henry Cheeseman raced along the touchline before Hougaard appeared to force him into touch as the Quins wing threw the ball backwards.

The assistant referee appeared to raise his flag but van Velze collected a popped pass from Nick Schonert to race home from around 45 metres.

The try stood after consultation with the television match official.

Heathcote converted to give Warriors a healthy 18-6 lead.

Botica added his third penalty before the break and notched his fourth after 67 minutes.

But Heathcote’s crucial three-pointer with eight minutes remaining, after good work from James Johnston, stretched Warriors’ advantage to 21-12.

Botica’s fifth penalty cut Warriors’ lead to six points but the visitors closed out the match fairly comfortably despite Heathcote missing a three-pointer in front of the posts.