WITH his battling performances on the pitch, Drew Hickey embodies the fighting spirit one would associate with a team known as Warriors.

And he is equally ferocious when it comes to his assessment of Worcester's dismal defensive display against Sale last Saturday.

"We didn't have as much enthusiasm for that game as we should have," he said. "The enthusiasm and the urgency in defence wasn't as good as it was against Bristol.

"A lot of it comes down to application. If we are off by one per cent, then when you play a team like Sale that gets magnified by a lot.

"And there's not a great deal of difference between nine teams in this league. We have to play at 100 per cent all the time to be competitive and to win games in this league and we didn't play at 100 per cent for that game, especially in defence."

The Australian-born star with hopes of playing for Ireland believes some of Worcester's problems stem from an attempt to adapt to a less predictable style of play.

He said: "Last year the forward pack dominated but there's only so long you can do that for. And teams have worked out that, if they can match us at a forward level, then they should be all right.

"You have to evolve your game and I think that is what we are trying to do at the moment.

"It's always a bit of a sticky period, that transition, and maybe we are at that stage."

With captain Pat Sanderson injured, Hickey has felt an extra weight of responsibility on his shoulders, especially as the elder statesman of a new-look back-row.

But, despite being an avid conversationalist off the pitch, the number eight prefers to let his performances do the talking when he crosses the white line.

"On game days there is only so much words can do," he said. "On the weekend, there were plenty of people wanting to say big games but, ultimately, it is the individual who will perform.

"You have just got to play as well as you possibly can and just hope that the guy next to you produces his best game. Ultimately, you can't really influence how other people are going to play."

Despite his reluctance to shout the odds, Hickey is happy to take the likes of Kai Horstmann and Tom Harding under his wing.

"I'm probably the more experienced of the three of us in the back row," he said. "I've always enjoyed that aspect -- the bigger the game, the harder the opposition, the better the player.

"I relish that opportunity to play when there is more pressure on me. I tend to enjoy it when the chips are down."

A firm favourite with the Sixways fans, Hickey has never been far from the reckoning when man-of-the-match awards are being dished out.

That is partly because he is strong in every department. He can run with the ball, tackle, score tries, win line-outs and is prepared to put his head where it hurts at the breakdown.

But the 27-year-old points out that he only catches the eye thanks to the less glamorous work of his team-mates.

"If the guys in front of you do their job, it makes my job a lot easier," he said. "And, to a large extent this season, our tight forwards have done their job.

"A lot of their work is unnoticed as well. Guys like Phil Murphy, who does a lot of work and doesn't get a lot of praise. But if he doesn't do his job in front of me, my job is infinitely harder."