EXPERIENCED centre Jackson Willison is loving life in the Premiership and hailed the competition as ‘everything he expected and more’.
The talented New Zealander, who joined the club this summer from French outfit Grenoble, has played every minute of Warriors’ six Aviva Premiership games and described the physicality and speed of the game as ‘amazing’.
The former Super Rugby player also admitted despite his wealth of experience, he is learning something new each week under head coach Carl Hogg.
“I’ve found my first taste of Premiership rugby amazing. It’s been everything I’ve expected and more,” said the 27-year-old.
“Watching Premiership rugby on TV before I came over here I could see it looked fast and had a lot of physicality. That’s the environment I wanted and it hasn’t let me down. It’s achieved my expectations in terms of being physical, you only have to look at our injury list.
“I’ve been pleased with my performances so far. I started the season at 15 and I’ve now been given a lot more time at 12, which I feel comfortable with.
“I’ve settled into life on and off the pitch in Worcester. It’s a beautiful area and we’ve done a lot of exploring. I’m loving my time over here and enjoying my rugby too which is a bonus.
“I try and take it game by game and the recent win against Newcastle has given us all confidence. The beauty of this squad is that were always learning something new each week and if we keep putting in hard-working shifts, we’ll continue to improve.
“I’ve watched the youngsters develop their game since pre-season and it’s been great to see them get an opportunity. I’m not surprised at how well they’ve played as they have a lot of talent,” he added.
Willison believes the upcoming European Challenge Cup games will provide a platform for the squad’s younger players to impress.
“The games don’t get any easier. The European Challenge Cup is a great tournament and gives us an opportunity to play a lot of our youngsters. I’ve never been to Russia before and I think I’d only ever go for the rugby,” he added.
“I have mates in the Connacht team who played in Russia last year, so I’ve hear a lot of stories. They endured very cold conditions and long flights. It was a bit of a nightmare.
“But I’m sure it’ll be a good experience for our young crop of players to prove themselves,” he added.