HAT-trick hero Joe Taufete’e has hailed the team spirit at Worcester Warriors, insisting players “kept each other alive” during their barren spell.

Worcester ended a run of six straight defeats with a 30-20 win over Brive in the European Challenge Cup last Saturday.

Hooker Taufete’e admitted it was an “amazing feeling” to score three tries and help his side secure a bonus point victory at Sixways.

But the 25-year-old has applauded his teammates for keeping the spirits high in the camp.

“Around the club the morale has been really good,” Taufete’e said.

“The boys have kept each other alive so to be able to come in on Saturday and get the win just puts the cherry on top for us.”

Taufete’e bagged his first try on 17 minutes before completing his hat-trick with a quick-fire double just before the break.

The USA international, who made the transition to rugby in 2011, said it was his first treble of his career and was keen to praise the work of his fellow forwards as all three of his touchdowns came from catch and drives.

“It is quite rare to see a front rower get a hat-trick in the first half,” Taufete’e said.

“It’s an amazing feeling.

“Obviously my first job was to focus on the lineout.

“We drilled our set piece and our mauls and it seemed that there were a lot of openings, so it was up to me to stick to the plan and obviously walk in.”

Taufete’e came up against ex-Warriors prop James Johnston in a power-packed Brive side and felt Worcester did well to win the forward battle.

“When we get into our five, our job is to prove to them that we have got a bigger and better pack than they have got,” he said.

“JJ came in as a second row, so they are big boys.

“It was pretty tough to try to front up against them, so when it came to the attack we wanted to move the ball as much as possible.”

Warriors are now preparing for Saturday’s trip to Ireland to face Connacht at the Sportsground (3pm).

“All we can do now is focus on getting the little bits right and fine tuning the small details,” Taufete’e added.

“I have not really soaked the Brive game in yet, but, as always, I am looking forward to the next game.”