THE biggest mystery surrounding Worcester's miserable start to the season was how their line-out went from being one of the most efficient in the Premiership to a disaster zone.

In the club's first 18 months in top-flight rugby, the sight of 6ft 7ins lock Craig Gillies plucking the ball out of the air had become a defining image at Sixways but things suddenly took a turn for the worse.

Injuries and re-shuffles meant Gillies missed five of Warriors' first nine games this season and his absence from the team and subsequent drop in form has been mooted as one reason why the club's forward dominance has been eroded.

The 30-year-old admits his confidence dipped after a wretched run in the first three months of the seaon but he, and his team-mates, have been putting in the hard yards on the training ground to try to re-discover their edge.

"As a group of players, we have called ourselves in for extra sessions just to go over our calls, our line-outs and make sure everything is right," he said. "I think that extra practice has paid off.

"We know our set-piece was not as good as it should be and the guys have taken it upon themselves to put in the extra time.

"There's been no fundamental changes. I think it's just practice "I don't know how much of what has gone wrong with our line-out is down to the opposition and how much is down to ourselves. I don't think we have necessarily been worked out.

"I think perhaps technically we haven't been quite as good as we can be, which is what we are trying to put right."

The reward has been back-to-back wins against Saracens and Newport Gwent Dragons, which were characterised by polished performances at the set-plays.

Gillies has been at the forefront of that improvement and he has enjoyed being re-united with his old partner in crime, Tim Collier, in the second row.

The two were a potent combination before Collier suffered a serious shoulder injury, which kept him out of the game for nine months.

"It has been good renewing that partnership again," said Gillies. "It is good playing with Tim. I'm pleased he's come back into the squad and played well because he has had a tough time with in-juries.

"It is difficult for players to come straight back in and play well, which he has done in the last couple of weeks.

"We have got four guys in the second-row who each have their own individual streng-ths and weaknesses. You can pretty much mix and match any of those four."

As for his own form, Gillies admits to being a "confidence player" and successive victories have helped his game as he looks to return to the form of 12 months ago.

"Going on a run of league defeats didn't help my confidence," he said. "When the set-piece isn't going so well, that can have an affect as well.

"The last couple of weeks have given me some confidence. When the set-piece goes well, I feel I'm achieving a bit more on the pitch and that gives me confidence in other areas.

"I think I have definitely had a boost in confidence the last couple of weeks.

"When we were losing games you try not to let it affect you but there's no doubt it does affect the confidence of everyone, not just the guys on the pitch but the whole squad."