FORMER Bath flanker Mat Gilbert is keen to build on his man-of-the-match display for Worcester Warriors in the British and Irish Cup.

The 29-year-old ex-Scarlets player scored a try and made a host of tackles in Warriors’ 39-0 success at Midlands rivals Moseley on Saturday.

Gilbert said: “I have been at Worcester for around six weeks and I have really enjoyed it.

“It’s good to put what I have done in training on to the pitch and show Dean Ryan and Carl Hogg what I can do.

“There are highs and lows of being a professional rugby player.

“The opportunity has arisen at Worcester and I am looking forward to the future. I settled in pretty quickly and I know Tom Biggs from my time at Bath.

“I have known Ryan Lamb from university and it’s a great environment at Worcester.

“We have a competitive squad of 50-odd people and, as a player, you can’t rest on your laurels.

“There is a lot of quality in the backrow with Sam Betty and Matt Cox and, hopefully, that will make the team stronger.”

Gilbert looked superb in his first start for Warriors and believes the club can kick on in the cup competition.

“A lot of guys who have played the last three weeks have not played much in the Championship and getting three wins out of three in the British and Irish Cup has been a bonus, said Gilbert.

“We can take that forward into the next group of matches in the cup and, hopefully, push into the quarter-finals.”

“It is a very high tempo which we play — the lads take the ball to the edge and see what they can do.

“These young guys want to play rugby and it’s an exciting way to play.”

The flanker was delighted to notch his first senior try for Warriors and admits they needed to be strong defensively to shut-out Moseley.

“At times, our discipline let us down and it gave them the opportunity to kick to the corner,” he said. “But in phase play I felt that we were pretty strong.

“It was nice to go under the posts. It was a great pass from Tiff Eden – it put me through the hole.

“Tiff called the play for the forwards to hit up the middle and they did not close the hole in time.

“But Moseley kept coming and the boys did well to keep them to zero.”

n A local charity which works with homeless young people across Worcestershire is urging the community to spend a night under the Sixways sky next week.

St Basil’s is working with Warriors to support youth homelessness prevention services and is looking for people to take on a sponsored challenge to give up their beds for a night.

The Worcester SleepOut, which takes place on Thursday, November 6, is part of a national initiative where communities across England leave their beds for the night and sleep out in the open.