IN the opening weeks of the season, there will without doubt have been plenty of envious glances coming out of Sixways in the direction of Sandy Park.

After seeing off Sale Sharks in their first game back in the Aviva Premiership, newly-promoted Worcester have since made faltering progress in the top-flight, losing three matches on the spin.

Exeter Chiefs, on the other hand, have built on an impressive eighth-placed finish that confounded the experts in their Premiership debut campaign last year and are currently flying high in third spot with three wins out of four.

So what’s the difference between the two relative newcomers to the top tier of English rugby? Well, Warriors head coach Richard Hill puts it down to enthusiasm.

The Worcester head coach explained: “The difference between us and Exeter is partly psychological because there is a huge amount of enthusiasm in a team that is just in the Premiership.

“All of Devon was behind that team when they got promoted and there is a massive wave of positivity. A lot of Exeter’s players had not played in the Premiership before and were really excited about it.

“We have a lot of players here who were in the Premiership for six years and were losing a lot, so it’s all about getting that winning mentality back.

“Exeter have come up through the leagues and the Championship before coming into the Premiership and making a great start. The whole of the Exeter Chiefs brand is really buzzing because it’s new.”

He continued: “In terms of their game-plan, they’ve set their stall out for a big pack of forwards, powerful backs and are very direct.

“While not being unkind, it is a simple game-plan but they execute it really well and are very good at what they do.

“They’re an efficient machine without many weak links.

“They may well start to expand their rugby later on, but at the moment they have a very successful formula on and off the pitch.”

The apparent void between the two sides was highlighted when the clubs’ reserve teams met on Monday with Exeter United drubbing Worcester Cavaliers 34-3.

Hill added: “We had a good Cavaliers side out against Exeter, but we weren’t very good — I was expecting a lot better than that.

“Before the game there was a good feeling in the dressing room, but we came across a physical Exeter side that out-muscled us in the set-piece and at the break-down.

“We didn’t really get our game going, so it was a disappointing loss. I don’t think anyone who played on Monday put their hands up to be involved against Northampton tomorrow night — no-one really stood out.”