WHEN Phil 'The Power' Richards arrived at Sixways in the summer he promised the players a 'brutal' time.

He was true to his word and, five months on, Worcester can no longer be perceived as soft touches.

The fitness coach, who learnt his 'skills for life' in the army, is one of the main reasons behind the new physical edge to the team many rugby observers thought was not hard enough to break into the big time.

Richards, though, set about changing all that. An overhaul of the players' training regime began with a new emphasis on strengthening while fresh diets and nutritional guidelines were put in place. Some old pros may have wondered about the upheaval but, after eight wins out of eight and a five-point lead at the top of National One, it's hard to argue with the man from Neath.

Certainly, Worcester's 43-17 weekend win at Plymouth signalled an ability to drive even the biggest of packs back on their own turf and represented a new chapter in the Sixways story.

"There are no shortcuts to success," said Richards. "You cannot afford to rest on your laurels. The players at Worcester have been professional and taken to the new regime, they have thrived on it.

"When I talk to the academy players here at Worcester I tell them not to kid themselves. A professional rugby player's life is brutally hard. You need to be tough physically and mentally. If you are neither of them then don't waste your time."

Sacrifices, therefore, needed to be made within the squad. Cereals were binned, tap water was outlawed and microwave food a definite no-no. Training was changed in intensity with shorter sessions and bigger weights.

"It was just a case of the players trusting me," added Richards. "They've trained hard since the summer and made those sacrifices. Now it's all starting to come together. I always thought that it would take until November and December before you started to see the real benefit and that's how its turned out.

"It was a complete overhaul of their nutrition. They are now eating proper food, a lot more protein and their body fat has dropped massively, their energy levels have gone through the roof and they recover a lot quicker.

"The key was laying down the nutritional lifestyle so they had a foundation to actually train. Then we could move on to the weights sessions which were brutal.

"Now, though, we are seeing new records from the players. Their strength levels have increased dramatically.

"If you take Gary Trueman, for example. He could only squat at 100 kilograms in the summer. He's now up to 180 and you can see the benefit of that in his game. Gary feels a lot sharper and gets over the gain line more often.

"He's a great example of someone who has really stuck to the guidelines and, when they start to see the results, they get more and more excited."

Not one to stand still, however, Richards has still got some tricks up his sleeve. For a coach who thinks nothing about travelling half way around the world to pick up tips from other experts, it is hardly surprising.

"I've ordered a few cars for the club," he said. "The guys are going to start car pushing shortly!

"You've got to keep the guys stimulated to keep on getting the results. What we saw at Plymouth on Saturday was just the tip of the iceberg. I expect the squad to improve massively during the season.

"We've got a lot more equipment to come. Heavier weights are on the way because I believe the key to a good strengthening and conditioning coach is the ability to change the programme so the squad can keep on improving.

"It's like the old saying. If you keep doing the same thing then you get the same thing."

You have to suspect that people will still, deep down, believe that Worcester are the fancy dans of rugby, the moneybags club with egos to boot.

The dismantling of those perceptions take time but Richards has a warning for anyone in National One who still believes Worcester have that soft underbelly.

"Anyone who thinks that will pay a price. They will have to take the consequences. The edge is starting to come here at Worcester, there's no doubt about it.

"The whole training programme has been about giving the team a bit of spine. It's growing now but, I can promise you this, there's certainly a lot more to come."

Exeter Chiefs -- you have been warned!