WHEN Worcester Rugby Club's players read their programme for the beginning of their pre-season work, they could have been forgiven for thinking 'test week' would be a walk in the park.

Think again! Peter Finch - the newly recruited fitness coach at Sixways - has the sort of steely stare that would put the frighteners on even the greatest of Maori warriors and was yesterday introducing himself to Worcester's new crop of talent.

The New Zealander, who played rugby all over the world in countries such as Australia, Africa and England in a career spanning almost 30 years, was brought to Sixways on a one-year deal as part of new head coach John Brain's revolution.

Finch was with Brain at Gloucester for two-and-a-half years but is now charged with getting the best physically out of the players as Worcester prepare for their vital season in National One which gets underway in September.

And the 42-year-old was in his element at the club's gym, preparing a dossier on each individual before the on-the-pitch training begins next week.

"The challenge has been here at Worcester and it hasn't been realised," he said. "If the squad's fitness is up to Premiership level then I can see no reason, with the coaching staff and players that we have here, that the two cannot marry together and produce a Premiership side. In order to achieve that, we need to be playing Premiership levels in National One this season, to maintain that next year."

Worcester's first-team squad yesterday began to feel the reality of the new era under Finch with flexibility tests followed by weights sessions. Once Finch has the data from those tests, he can plan a training regime which will get the best physically out of every player. Not only is it an important time physically for the squad members, it is also vital how they bond with one another and with Finch.

"For me, I only know a handful of them. There are some good aspects to that because we have a blank sheet. We need to know what level we are at with the players. I wasn't in a position to give them off-season programmes so I'm picking out guys as they are now and need as much data as I can collate. We will then know in which areas we need to improve and the training programmes will reflect that."

And as the players dragged themselves out of the gym pouring with sweat, Finch, with a wry smile peeking out from his bushy, sergeant major style moustache, had few words of comfort for his new troops.

"From Monday they will be training hard throughout July. This month is largely conditioning and when the hardest work begins.

"It never gets easy. It never stops hurting and the fitter you get - the quicker you can bounce back to do something else!"