ALL of us who weren’t playing for the Cavaliers against The Army last week got together for a meal before the game and then we went up to Sixways to support the lads.

It was great to get together and relax and then we had a few beers after the game with the people who had played in the match — it was a good evening and much-needed.

I thought Shaun Perry put in a superb display, especially as it was his first game back after such a long injury lay-off, he was the stand-out player on the pitch.

I’m not sure what he is up to next season, but he was outstanding and showed he has certainly got a few more miles left in the tank.

‘Pezza’ is 34 and I definitely think he can play a part for us this season. He is intelligent, picks good lines and is really strong — also, he is a different type of nine to Jonny Arr and Paul Hodgson, which gives us more options.

He has been very professional in the way he has come back from his injury and you could clearly see he just wanted to get his boots on again and be back out there playing.

All of the lads who have played for the first team this season and were called upon to play in the mid-week game against the Army — the likes of Sam Betty and Craig Gillies — were very professional and did a job.

Another player to have stood out was Richard de Carpentier and he is certainly one for the future — he has all the attributes to do well.

We’ve not seen much of him in the first team at Warriors yet, but he will grow with confidence, especially after being selected to go to Hong Kong with the England Sevens team.

I love to see his style of player — he is rangey, good in the line-out and has a bit of ‘dog’ about him. We signed him from Leicester and you don’t play for them without being a good player.

Ben Howard has been on international duty with England Under 20s too and he is another Worcester player that I rate highly.

He has had a little bit of first team game-time in the LV= Cup and the Amlin Challenge Cup and he looked really sharp, which is what we want.

Euan Murray has been away with Scotland during the Six Nations too and he has done well for them — it is always good to have international players in your squad.

They always go about their business professionally and in the right way.

Starting today, we now have two full days with defence coach Phil Larder, which will be intense sessions. He brings a lot of technical work to his role and also the way he plays on the lads’ emotions.

He is very experienced and his list of honours is so impressive having coached with Leicester, England and the Lions — he is a great bloke to work with.