ANDY Keast has praised Neil Cole for his confident start to the Premiership campaign.

The South African probably wasn't every supporter's first pick after the summer capture of Clive Stuart-Smith but the scrum-half has fitted in well in Worcester's opening two top-flight fixtures.

"He had an outstanding game on Sunday against Saracens," said the Warriors head coach.

"He was very busy both in attack and defence, he's got a quick service and he works exceptionally hard for the team.

"It's not that Clive Stuart-Smith or Matt Powell don't have those qualities as well but, as we've always said at Worcester, if you've got possession of the shirt it's yours to lose."

Cole has grown since his Sixways arrival last season and a less than inspiring debut at Penzance & Newlyn.

However, the 24-year-old won a Premiership contract after buying into Worcester's playing philosophy and is currently in pole position to carry on the job against Bath today at Sixways (2pm).

"There's a definite philosophy of how we want to play the game at Worcester," added Keast.

"That was presented to the players and they fully understand what we are trying to do. However, you have to play it game by game and the Bath game is a prime example of that.

"We want to improve on our line-out work and, obviously, against their second row that is a challenge for the players.

"The line-out is an area where games are won and lost and that's a big reason why Bath did so well last season.

"We've got to make sure we don't let Bath have it all their own way in the line-out.

"If they do, they'll be on the front foot and, if we don't win ours, we'll never get enough ball to do any damage.

"If we get our basics right in the line-out and scrum, we'll be looking to play some rugby. There's no doubt about that. We also want to be physical and take them on in the tight areas as well.

"This is a process of development. We'll be happy if we continue to improve week by week."