HEAD coach Carl Hogg has praised fly-half Ryan Lamb’s ‘solid’ effort in Warriors’ opening two Aviva Premiership games and expects to see the kicker continue to impress.
Hogg picked Lamb to start in the number ten role against Saracens and Gloucester ahead of Scotland international Tom Heathcote, which has already seen him surpass the one start he made last season under former Director of Rugby Dean Ryan.
Hogg said the 30-year-old stand-off pipped Heathcote to first team kicker following his performances in pre-season, but expects their to be a ‘good battle’ between the two throughout the season.
Lamb is just six Premiership points off reaching the 1,000-mark after accumulating 994 points from spells with Leicester Tigers, Northampton Saints, London Irish, Gloucester and Warriors.
“We looked at Tom and Ryan in pre-season and both had good performances, but I thought Ryan was just able to get that number ten jersey marginally over Heathcote. It’s down to competition and that’s what we want,” said Hogg.
“Ryan’s been very solid. He had to deal with a lot of pressure when we played Saracens, but I think he has partnered well with Jonny Arr in these opening games.
“We want to create competition for places across the squad as it’s healthy for the team going forward.
I’m sure it’ll be a good battle between Heathcote and Lamb right throughout the season.”