WARRIORS director of rugby Gary Gold admits he is concerned about the pressure the Premiership Rugby A League will have on his team in the upcoming season.
The Worcester chief has spent the summer slimming down his squad ahead of the 2017/18 Aviva Premiership campaign, but after the recent announcement that the number of A League fixtures will be doubled from five to ten, Gold is anxious about the impact the competition will have on other tournaments where the club are looking to perform well.
The recent signing of Ireland international Peter Stringer was one way of combating the pressure, Gold admitted.
“There’s a lot of pressure on the Premiership and there’s a huge amount of pressure that weighs over your head when expectations are so high regarding your Premiership form and performance,” said Gold.
“You also want to perform well in Europe (European Challenge Cup) and the Anglo-Welsh Cup, so to have ten (A League) fixtures before Christmas when we’ve purposely cut our squad down can put pressure on us.
“But in saying that, we’re planning accordingly. That’s why we brought Peter Stringer in. We’re going to be running two teams during one week on several occasions. Even if everyone is fit you still need four nines.
“It’s (A League) definitely going to put pressure on more teams, so we’re having to plan and prepare accordingly.”
Cavaliers kick-off their Premiership Rugby A League campaign on Monday, September 4 when they welcome Leicester Tigers to Sixways (Kick-off 7.30pm).