THE season may only be two weeks old but already the Prmeiership table has a fascinating look about it.

Worcester are currently sitting pretty in the top half of the table along with London Irish, the team they saw off in such dramatic style on Sunday.

The other club mixing it with the big boys are surprise pace-setters Bristol, who have marked their Premiership return with two wins out of two.

It's a statistic that fans of Bath and Newcastle won't want to be reminded of and it probably won't please many of our own supporters but there's no doubt that Bristol's fast start is good for rugby.

While Chelsea are already clear at the top of football's Premiership, rugby's equivalent appears to be wide open.

Admittedly, British rugby's two super-powers, Leicester and Wasps, are second and third and would probably be setting the pace had they not run into each other at the weekend.

Those two clubs, along with Sale, will quite probably contest the top three spots in the league this year but that still leaves the other nine clubs to fight it out for fourth place, which guarantees a Premiership play-off spot and Heineken Cup berth.

Worcester might reasonably argue that, as they are not one of the founder members of the Premiership, they do not receive the same monetary benefits and therefore can't compete on the same financial footing as Bristol.

But the Somerset side should be given their due because, according to Warriors skipper Pat Sanderson, the table doesn't lie.

"Bristol are top because they have won two games and they deserve to be there," he said. "All credit to them, they must be doing something right. Rugby is not a lucky sport. There are very few flukes in rugby.

"In soccer you get the giant-killers of the world because you can be unlucky, not score a goal and lose 1-0. In rugby, that tends not to be the case.

"Generally teams that deserve to win, win. Results go the way of the better team. If Bristol are winning they are obviously doing something right."

Sanderson knows all about the architect of Bristol's upturn in fortunes, Richard Hill, having played under him at NEC Harlequins.

Hill's meticulous approach on the training ground has helped install a strong work ethic, which has paid dividends on the pitch.

Similarly, Worcester's players are among the fittest and best conditioned in the league and their work rate is going to give them the best opportunity to compete with the more established sides.

There's every chance that the cream will eventually rise to the top and the less fancied teams will be pitted against each other in a relegation dogfight.

But, international call-ups, injuries and the rigours of Heineken Cup rugby could weaken the top sides and make the playing field more even.

That will give Warriors the opportunity to pull off one or two more shocks before the season is over.

Let's hope they can start with victory over Saracens tomorrow.