AS the dust settles on another season at Sixways, it is worth examining how far Worcester have come since last summer.

The bare statistics are not especially flattering. The club had exactly the same amount of Premiership wins as they did in the last campaign. They lost three out of three in the Powergen Cup and fell one round short of last year's European final.

But that doesn't quite tell the whole story. The season needs to be looked at as a whole to determine whether the club has made advances over the last eight months.

Having secured their Premiership status on the last day of the previous season, the Sixways hierarchy were desperate for a similar situation to be avoided this time around.

The first priority was therefore to put points on the board as quickly as possible and the players did that by scrapping six wins and a draw from their first nine Premiership games, taking them to the giddy heights of fourth in the table.

Three defeats at the turn of the year thrust them back down the table but victory at Bristol at the end of January seemed to be enough to convince the management they were safe for another season.

After that match, there was a noticeable change in the style of play, which became more adventurous. It wasn't always pretty. Warriors conceded 48 points at home to Sale and misfired badly at Leeds and Saracens.

But, in between, there were some magical moments and some superbly executed tries, most notably Dale Rasmussen's effort at Leicester and Aisea Havili's against Wasps.

In the last two games of the season, Worcester played some dazzling rugby and their eighth place finish in the league was the least they deserved.

So is director of rugby John Brain satisfied with the progress his side have made this season?

"It's progress in my view but it's less than satisfactory," he said. "I thought we had the potential to get 50 points or more.

"But I do think we have made progress in the way we play. And we have finished above sides like Saracens, Bath and Leeds, which have all been assembled at greater cost than ours."

A lot has been made of the development of Worcester's playing style from a 10-man set-piece-based game to a less predictable and more exciting 15-man game with the emphasis on carefully choreographed attacking moves.

This sea-change has partly come about through the influence of head coach Anthony Eddy, schooled in the fast and furious Australian version of the game.

The skill level of the players has improved and Brain and Eddy have recruited well. In October they swooped for Havili and the Tongan speedster has proven to be one of the best finishers in the country.

But in this brave new world of expansive rugby, it is not all about the backs. You can't hurt teams unless you have the ball and Brain will no doubt be working hard over the summer with his forwards to ensure they can restore their dominance at the set-piece.

One area in which Worcester really shine is the back-row and Brain described his loose forwards as "outstanding" in Saturday's defeat at Bath.

Pat Sanderson continues to grow into a world- class player as well as an inspirational captain and Drew Hickey, Kai Horstmann and Tom Harding are all major talents and great athletes.

The top teams in the land all have quality in abundance at the back of the scrum and Worcester are not a million miles away now. If they can harness their undoubted forward power with a talented midfield and a dynamic back three, it could just be a very big year for them next season.

"I think we have got the makings of a good team," said Brain. "I think if we can get our off-season recruitment right -- and most of the squad here is staying -- we'll continue to develop that brand of rugby."