FLANKER Marco Mama believes the club’s mouth-watering clash against local rivals Gloucester will be a crucial chance to prove Sixways can become a Warriors fortress this season.
The back-row emphasised the importance of Warriors beating the Kingsholm outfit on Friday night to get their first home win under their belt, in what he believes will determine how successful the club’s Premiership campaign will be.
The 24-year-old also said the Warriors fans will make a ‘massive’ difference to the club’s home form this campaign.
“One thing about the Premiership is that you have to focus on your home games and make sure you win as much of them as possible,” said Mama.
“We showed good home form last year and picked off some of the league’s top sides at Sixways, so it’s important we get results here.
“It’ll be a huge test against Gloucester and the crowd will make a massive difference. We always get a great following, especially against Gloucester.
“It’s nice to be at a club that has a good local rivalry and we know how important this game is for everyone associated with the club.
“We have good memories from when we hosted Gloucester last season. Since then they’ve made some good signings and have a solid squad, so it’s going to be a hell of a game and a nice way to open our campaign at Sixways.”
Mama, who joined Warriors on loan from Bristol in August 2015 before being bought by the club and loaned back out to the West Country outfit towards the end of the last season, is happy to have no distractions this year.
“There’s no indecision of where I’m going to end up this campaign. I know I’m at Warriors for the next two years, so I can concentrate on my place in the squad and keep pushing to get selected,” he added.
“It was a bit of a distraction playing for both Warriors and Bristol and sometimes I did feel like I was neither here or there. It was all a bit up in the air at times, so it’s nice to be in a stable environment this season. I can now focus all my energy on Warriors.”