IT is important to create a winning culture within a club and we are doing that at Worcester Warriors.

You can’t do it over a week or two, it takes time and everything goes better when the team is winning matches and positive.

That is the case at the moment in the Championship, ‘A’ League and B & I Cup so we are currently in a happy place.

Hat’s off to the boys for winning all five games in the B & I Cup and securing a quarter-final spot. We just want to make sure it’s a home quarter-final now by beating Nottingham at Sixways on Saturday.

It was a big win away from home against Munster last Friday. It showed an ability to win ugly and they played very well so hopefully we can continue that winning streak.

The guys who play in the ‘A’ League and B & I Cup are the backbone of the squad. If they don’t perform or play well, they’re not pushing the rest of us and there’s no healthy competition. They are doing exactly what’s asked of them.

They have demonstrated a calmness when they play and they all want to impress and prove a point as they look for their opportunity to play in the first team. Eager guys willing to learn is good to see and they’re getting the results.

We have got a good, young squad that’s willing to move forward and it’s exciting times.

Darren O’Shea, for example, came here relatively unknown, kept his head down during the first few months and worked hard.

He’s been playing good rugby, shown a lot of calmness and leadership at the line-out.

Jean-Baptiste Bruzulier has been captain for the Cavaliers and in the B&I Cup and he’s been doing really well but that’s just to name two.

I will be back involved against Nottingham and I am raring to go. I have had three weeks doing conditioning so it will be good to be out on the pitch again.

Everything is going well except for the weather. I come from South Africa so anything under 15 degrees for me is bad.

It’s my third season in the UK so I should be used to it but I just don’t like it, I like warm weather and sunshine.

I really hope rugby will move forward and become a summer sport so we could have a universal season with the southern hemisphere.

I know there is talk of it and I think it would be a lot better for the game. It would attract more people and players would play more expansive rugby with more tries.

It probably won’t happen in my career but I really hope it will happen in the future.