OF all the fine performances from Worcester players in Friday's thumping of Wasps, perhaps the most satisfying was that delivered by Mark Tucker.

Since the turn of the year, the 25-year-old has gone from a bit-part player to first-choice three quarter and he was in the thick of the action against the Londoners.

A few eyebrows may have been raised when Tucker was given the nod ahead of South African international Thinus Delport for a match of such magnitude.

But, after learning of his selection, the former Northampton player was determined to repay the faith shown in him and he did just that by setting up the first try.

"There was a lot of murmurs that Thinus was sitting on the bench," said Tucker. "And I understand that. He's a fantastic and superb international rugby player and he's been brilliant for Worcester.

"But the confidence the coaches showed in picking me above him gave me a huge boost and I'm almost positive it had a lot to do with the performance I put in."

After arriving from Franklin's Gardens in the summer, Tucker was restricted to appearances in the Powergen Cup and Europe. He had to bide his time before making his first Premiership start in January but has been an ever-present since then.

"The league is taken in very high regard by Worcester rugby club," said Tucker. "There has to be a certain trust to take part in that league. It's not just trust from the coaching staff but trust in yourself and trust from the rest of the players.

"It takes time when you arrive at a new club. You have to build that trust. It doesn't just arrive with you."

The South African-born player had become familiar with the role of understudy, having played second fiddle to internationals like Allan Bateman and John Leslie for much of his time at Saints.

But, honest pro that he is, Tucker used his time on the sidelines at Sixways to assess his own contribution.

"The first six games of the season, I didn't give myself the chance to get into the side," he said. "I didn't play with enough authority to command a position or a place in that team.

"As you play more and more games, your confidence grows and you try more things.

"You find yourself in positions that you wouldn't find yourself in if you were a little more nervous.

"I'm very happy with my performance on Friday but there's still definitely more I can do, especially as a winger."

Tucker has played most of his rugby at centre but feels his current role is less restrictive.

"Wing seems to give you a lot more freedom," he said. "You can wander, you can put yourself in positions that you feel are good.

"In general play, the winger gets a lot more freedom. I do enjoy it. There's a lot more space.

"On Friday night we got a lot of ball, we used a lot of ball and it was just really enjoyable to be a winger in that sort of situation."

Tucker's new-found confidence was in evidence when he mesmerised the champions' defence and provided the space for Aisea Havili to break the deadlock.

And he revealed the astonishing amount of work done on the training ground to pull off that move.

"I was caught in two minds whether to give the ball quickly," he said. "That was a training ground move that we had practised. We must have been through it 100, 150 times.

"By analysing Wasps and the way they defended, we knew that kind of move would work.

"That confidence does build. And it doesn't just build on the outside. You can actually feel in yourself the confidence growing."