SEVENS star Richard De Carpentier has spoken of his determination to secure a new deal to stay at Worcester Warriors.
The flanker, whose contract runs out in the summer, has been a key figure for Worcester in their run to the British & Irish Cup final.
However, De Carpentier, who has made just three substitute appearances in the Greene King IPA Championship, told The Observer his future at the club remained unclear.
The 24-year-old admitted competition has been rife in the back row and boosted even further with the signing of Sam Lewis from Ospreys.
But De Carpentier, who joined Warriors from Leicester Tigers in 2012, believes he still had a chance of breaking into the first team.
“Sam Lewis is obviously a great signing for the club,” De Carpentier said.
“He is a really good player and has a lot of experience in the Magners League and looks like he has transferred it well in his first couple of games.
“It is frustrating for me, but it is also good because you would not want to be getting into a bad team.”
He added: “I have got nothing sorted yet (regarding my future), so I have just got to keep training hard. Dean knows what I can offer, so I am just pushing hard for a place in the play offs and hopefully get Worcester back up.”
Despite playing only six games for the first team this season, De Carpentier said he was enjoying his time at Sixways and expressed his desire to play a part in Warriors’ future.
“I have seen the club grow over the past two and a half year,” he said. “The environment now is the best I have seen it in and I am hoping to stay here.
“We are moving in the right direction, which speaks volumes of the way Dean has run the club, so I would be happy to be a part of that.”
De Carpentier will be hoping to stake his claim for a place when he travels to Hong Kong along with Worcester ace Josh Watkins to play for England Sevens this weekend.
His selection comes after featuring for Simon Amor’s side last month and de Carpentier said the experience has helped to improve his chances of selection at Worcester.
“It was good to get away and get an opportunity to play,” he added.
“Obviously when chances are limited you can get a bit stagnant, but Dean and Simon Amor worked really well together and managed to get me out training with them a couple of times in the week and I managed to get a trip away, which was amazing.”