AFTER being overlooked for England's autumn programme, Andy Gomarsall has set his sights on making a return to the international arena and establishing himself as the best scrum-half in the land.

Gomarsall has slipped down the pecking order in the last 12 months. Wasps veteran Matt Dawson has come back into favour with head coach Andy Robinson, while Harry Ellis has emerged as the pick of a talented new generation.

The Warriors number nine was relishing a duel with Ellis at Sixways tonight but will instead face Austin Healey. Nevertheless, Gomarsall sees it as a great opportunity to make an impression.

"I want to be at the top of my game and prove I'm the best scrum-half in England," he said. "There's always that motivation for me whoever I play against.

"I've spoken to Andy Robinson and he has said he is watching the games and he has not said the door is shut. All I can do is play well week in week out. As long as John Brain and Anthony Eddy are happy with me then that's the most important thing."

Part of the reason the former Gloucester man is refusing to write off his chances of making a return from the international wilderness is that, at the age of 31, he believes his rugby education is far from complete.

He said: "It doesn't matter how experienced you are or how long you've been around, there's still things to learn. I feel that, with Anthony Eddy's coaching and with John Brain's experience, I've sat down and learned a lot.

"I am improving, which still shocks me a little bit because I've been playing for 12 or 13 years."

Gomarsall believes that Worcester's method of playing "through the guts" might enhance his chances of returning to the England set-up. Forward prowess is very much the style at Sixways and Robinson's team have developed a similar way of playing.

He has also had to make subtle changes to other parts of his game, like standing further away at the line-out and learning new calls at the set-pieces.

The Durham-born player is just happy to be playing at all at the moment after facing a big injury scare at the start of the season.

He looked at the peak of fitness as he scored two tries in the pre-season friendly against Benetton Treviso, but a knee injury took the gloss off it and ruled him out of an immediate re-union with his former club.

"My first worry was that I was going to be out for a long time," he said. "The initial prognosis was that it might have been four months so I was really worried about that."

A visit to the specialist soon eased that particular concern but he believes the injury still hampered him in the early matches.

He said: "That just took the momentum out of me a little bit physically and I've just started to get that back now. It's been going well and I feel great."

Gomarsall showed how far he has come with a magnificent display against French side Montpellier two weeks ago.

He is now determined to build on that and thinks his omission from the England side could be a blessing in disguise.

"Of course I am frustrated and I want to be there but at the same time, priorities are playing well for Worcester and training week in week out is definitely better for me in the long run."