WITH Worcester not having a fixture this weekend, we have had a bit of a mid-season break and I have taken a short holiday to Dubai.

It is pretty warm over here, so it has been nice to do some training under the sun for once rather than in the cold English winter weather.

A few of the guys have taken the chance to get away for a few days this week and it is important to have a break so we can come back fully refreshed in time for the Saracens game a week on Sunday.

It was great to be able to go into this mid-season break on a high after winning against Bristol at Sixways on Saturday.

It was a really good performance and one we had looked forward to for a while.

The occassion was added to by John Brain returning to Sixways and the win has now taken a weight off our shoulders.

Although we had targeted the Bristol game, I didn't imagine that we would have dominated up front as much as we did, because any team coached by John is usually strong in the set-piece. We were delighted with how well things went in that department and our front five in particular were brilliant.

Darren Morris had an excellent game, as did Craig Gillies and Greg Rawlinson.

Their hard work gave us plenty of go-forward ball. We had also worked hard on our line-out in the build-up to the game and did lots of preparation.

Greg is a complete player - he is great in the line-out, has a good work-rate and carries the ball strongly too.

It is almost like having another back-row forward in the team and it makes life a lot easier for those of us who are in the back row.

Craig also had a massive game - his work in the line-out and around the field was outstanding.

Every now and then a player can have a bad day with the boot like Loki Crichton did, but we know he is a class goal-kicker - he showed that at the World Cup.

I have every confidence he will be back on form with his kicking soon.

It was a day when our big players really stepped up to the mark, including Sam Tuitupou.

He is an excellent tackler and showed that with a massive hit on Matt Salter, who is Bristol's talisman. Seeing Sammy knock him back like he did gave us a big boost.

Although we haven't got a fixture this weekend, it will be the start of the Six Nations and I think it will be the most open tournament for a while so it is tough to pick a winner.

England did well at the World Cup and France will be a strong side too, so it will be interesting to see how they go.

Also, Wales have Warren Gatland now and, including Ireland, any one of four teams can win the title this year.

I don't know former Worcester player Luke Narraway that well but he has been having a great season at Gloucester and deserves his place in the side.

He seems to have a good balance to his game and it will be a massive match for him. It will be interesting to see how he handles the occasion, but he certainly deserves it.