WORCESTER Warriors star Sam Lewis is hoping to “learn a few new things” from his “great mentor” Jonathan Thomas.

The Bristol Bears forwards coach is set to join Warriors ahead of the 2020-21 campaign after penning a three-year deal at Sixways.

Having played with Thomas at Ospreys and Warriors, Lewis has welcomed the news of his arrival next summer and is confident the former Wales international will prove a “great” appointment by boss Alan Solomons.

“He’s a great guy,” Lewis said.

“I played with him at Ospreys and had a season with him at Worcester before he moved on.

“I am sure he will be great when he comes in.

“But we have just got to focus on this season and the coaches are doing a great job so far so hopefully we can just push on.”

Lewis recently signed a contract extension and is looking forward to linking up with Thomas who played for Worcester between 2013 to 2015 before moving into coaching.

“Hopefully he still remembers me!,” Lewis said.

“We will see what he thinks but it will be nice to catch up with him.

“He was a very intelligent player, he knows a lot about the game and we will see (what he says) when we meet up next year.”

Lewis said Thomas was an influential figure at Ospreys where he spent the majority of his playing career and Warriors, a club he captained.

“I remember playing with him at Ospreys when I was about 20 or 21 years old,” Lewis said.

“He was a great player and I remember watching him playing when I was growing up with Wales and Ospreys.

“He was a great mentor and hopefully I can learn a few new things form him when he comes over.”

Lewis has been a consistent performer for Warriors since his arrival from Ospreys in March 2015. The 29-year-old made 294 tackles, 148 carries, 16 offloads and six turnovers in an impressive 2018-19 season.

His tackling statistics remain high this term, but Lewis insists there is still room for improvement and wants to keep pushing himself.

“I struggled in the first few games in my first year in this league as it was a big change, but I think I hit the ground running from then on,” Lewis said.

“For me it’s about playing and getting that consistency. I feel I get better as I keep playing.

“If I can keep training well and try to keep playing then I feel like my game only gets better.

“There are so many things I can get better at whether that’s working with the backs or improving my physicality. It’s everything. I feel like I need to get better all-round.

“The strength in depth in the squad helps every day in training so I just need to keep pushing on, setting my standards and hopefully get better and better.”