I BEGAN to step up my rehabilitation this week and it's gone really well. Thirty minutes in the pool and on the bike has helped me and I have immediately felt the benefit.

We will come together at the end of the month and assess just where I am in regards to a return to playing but, fingers crossed, everything is going OK at the moment. I'm off my crutches and am just about able to walk properly so I can see the progress with the knee already.

What I'm delighted about, though, is the way the boys are playing without me. This month was always going to be about improvement and the players are doing that game in, game out.

We said we want to use October to go through the gears and I think you can see they've moved up a level in performance.

Against Manchester on Saturday, the players were very impressive. People will say that they are the bottom side in the league but you can only beat what's in front of you and the boys went out and played some encouraging rugby. There were up and down periods in the match but you are never going to get the perfect 80 minutes, especially away from home.

For me, the forwards are really punching their weight at the moment. Last year they came in for some real stick after our defeat at Rotherham but they are really impressing me as a unit. There are very few occasions when the lineout doesn't function and the scrum has dominated every opposition this season so far. When you look at the players within that unit, though, it's hardly surprising that it's going so well.

The front row is as experienced as they come while the locks have proven quality. The back row has been an area which is fiercely competitive now for a number of years and this season is no exception. When you have Drew Hickey, Christian Evans, Gavin Pfister, Neil Mason, Matt Evans and Richard Bates vying for a place, you know you have real competition for places. In that mix is also Mark Gabey who came into the back row on Saturday and did a good job for the side. It's so valuable to have people like Mark in your squad because he not only fills two positions, he is excellent in both.

I must admit, however, I have been very impressed with Lee Fortey since his arrival in the summer. Lee is a real 100 per center in whatever he does and that is a quality which is sometimes hard to come by believe it or not. When a coach knows that the player will run and tackle until he drops, he knows he's got something very special.

I know Lee comes from a semi professional background so he has seen the other side of the fence where he's had to mix rugby with work. If you come into a professional club like Worcester then you would appreciate it all the more because suddenly, your whole life is geared towards rugby.

I was pleased to see Daren O'Leary getting two tries at Manchester. He came under some criticism early on in the season but he really has quietened those voices in the best way possible, by answering his critics on the field. It's never easy when you move from a club where you had been a fair time, it takes a little time to adjust. Daren's done that now and from the records, it seems he's enjoying the Worcester experience.

As a back, though, if you can't enjoy your rugby at Worcester then I don't think you ever would. We are given so much ball that it is a delight! Wes Davies has already found that out and four tries in two games isn't a bad return from someone who has only just arrived.

Those backs will be licking their lips at the prospect of facing Exeter on Saturday. The Chiefs have had a torrid start to their season, losing four out of five National One games, and shipping tries left, right and centre. What I would say to people is don't expect Exeter to come to Sixways in a generous mood. They will now be fighting for their lives with the coach desperate to find a way out of their hole. They might well go back to basics on Saturday and hope to grind out a result because a win at Worcester would turn their season around.

Let's just hope we can go into the match on the back of a Springbok win on Saturday!