THE dismantling of common perceptions are always satisfying for those on the wrong end and for Worcester, it is almost a daily occurrence.

Accusations of players lured simply for money, sneering remarks about tradition and the building of a quick-fix club and a culture imported by those of the professional era.

Whenever you travel to clubs, that is the misconception of the goings on at Sixways.

The reality though, is somewhat different. Underneath the glamour and the glitz of the first team, coaches at all age levels are trying to unearth gems of the future to continue the development of the club.

That work is already beginning to pay dividends with a number of youngsters breaking through into the big time.

The recent victory for the first team over Henley at Dry Leas included two faces from the academy, introduced for the first time. Centre Gary Trueman and winger Chris Wilkes both played their part in the win while on the sidelines, fly halves Jon Higgins and Dan Cullen are serious contenders for involvement this season. Add to that the form of flanker Tom Warren last season, the promise shown by scrum half Tom Richardson, number eight Peter Knight, winger Chris Moule and the future is beginning to look decidedly rosy in the Sixways garden.

And academy director Carl Douglas is confident his budding stars would blossom if they were planted within the first team.

"I feel confident that these guys could operate in National One now," he said. "They could play for any other team outside maybe the top three. I know they would get a regular place in the first team at any other club. At Worcester we have a very strong squad so the guys have to be patient. But I think their opportunities will come. No-one would have bargained for Chris Wilkes or Gary Trueman getting into the first team so far this season but things have happened and they got their chance. They have really got to take those opportunities when they come because one thing's for sure - if they don't take the chance - it will be a long time before they get reconsidered.

"There is so much potential in this crop of players. However, this is their academy not mine. It will live or fall by how they approach their training and how they approach their club. They have ownership of it. My job is to help steer the ship and give sound advice."

Despite worries over upsetting big names on hefty salaries, Douglas believes John Brain and Steve Townend are open minded enough to include youngsters if they feel they can make a difference.

"The coaches look at who is playing well, who will make the contribution to the team at that particular time. The priority for the club is to get into the Premiership - end of story. The academy in that sense is a holding ground until such times to when we have greater flexibility to push players in and out in terms of selection and blood the young ones. My hope is that, as the season pans out, we feel confident that we can add players to the bench or maybe start one or two where they can be surrounded by experience."

Worcester have also applied to be one of England Rugby's new regional centres for their Elite Playing Squad academies but, despite a number of high profile announcements by the RFU regarding some successful applications from Premiership outfits, the Sixways club seem to have slipped out of the thinking.

"We put a bid in to be a regional centre," Douglas added. "We haven't heard anything about it since. We feel we have a strong bid. We've got an excellent academy programme running and can make as positive an input into an England Rugby structure as anyone. We'd like to have a phone call from them one way or the other to tell us what's going on. At the moment there is a vast area in the West Midlands of schools and rugby talent which can be tapped into."

The importance, however, of Worcester reaching the Premiership is not just seen as vital for the first team and the coaching set-up, at academy level it is essential to parade yourself as a top flight club.

Douglas saw one of the club's brightest prospects Will Kershaw-Naylor leave in the summer for the bright lights of Bristol. And the former army man accepts, it doesn't matter how good the training and facilities are, the Premiership is the place to be.

"We have a coaching structure with a number of beliefs central to that structure. I can tell you some top Premiership clubs wouldn't even know how to put these things together, they wouldn't have the expertise. The thing is, though, they are in the Premiership and that is all that matters to some. It doesn't matter to some kids what we do here unless we are in the Premiership. The common perception is - that is the place to be."

And that is the bottom line for Worcester. Despite sidestepping misconceptions over club and culture, they have to now escape the damning label of underachievers. It is one the rest of rugby are happy to embrace in a climate of jealousy and fear. The club are beginning to show the enormous amount of potential at all levels. Potential which is already proving its worth for club and soon, you have to think, for country.