THERE is no point trying to tell anyone tonight's Sixways showdown is just another game of rugby.

It might not carry any extra weight in terms of Premiership points but a home win would never be more welcome.

Not since they preserved their Premiership status 18 months ago have Worcester faced a game of such importance.

When even the club's director of rugby makes no attempt to play it down, you know there is plenty riding on the outcome.

"We have been beaten here in the last two games in the league. The match has a large significance for everybody," said John Brain.

"I think a victory for us would go a long way to turning (our season) around."

This is far-removed from the just another game' rhetoric usually reserved for such occasions.

Brain's side are rooted to the bottom of the table and if they fail to win tonight, they will only have one more opportunity to register a home Guinness Premiership win before the festive period.

But there is more to it than that. Like many of his foot-soldiers, Brain is a Gloucester man with strong links to the Kingsholm club, both as a player and a coach.

In the club's first two Premiership campaigns, the Warriors chief is yet to mastermind a win over his former club and there will never be a better time to start.

"To me personally, losing is not the best feeling in the world," he said.

"There would have been a time when most people would say it's unrealistic for Worcester to compete on the same pitch as Gloucester' but obviously that time has now come.

"It would be nice for a club like this to be able to turn a club like that over. There's no doubt about it."

The win might just mean that little bit more to the hosts than their M5 rivals but it will take something very special to end Gloucester's unbeaten run.

Dean Ryan's men are sitting pretty in second place in the league and are playing better rugby than any of their rivals. And the frightening thing is, they have one of the youngest squads in the Premiership who are only going to get better.

Worcester's skipper Pat Sanderson struck the nail firmly on the head in his column this week when he said Gloucester were a complete team. They now have the forwards who can win enough ball for their talented backs to wreak havoc.

"I think they thoroughly deserve to be where they are in the league," said Brain. "They had a good defence last season and they have carried that forward into this season. They are very dangerous and they look good value for where they are in the league."

Worcester spent most of last season developing their game and they now have finishers like Aisea Havili and Marcel Garvey who can stretch teams out wide.

The problem is they have forgotten how to win the ball up front. And it doesn't matter how good their three quarters are, if they don't see anything of the ball.

Since beating Wasps in March, Worcester have failed to harness forward dominance with dynamic back play. That is why they are where they are in the table.

Hopefully, tonight will mark a turnaround in the Sixways club's fortunes and Warriors can finally get their season off and running.