If anyone at Gloucester thought a few games in the First Division would be rugby's equivalent of Siberian exile, one training run with Moseley quickly disabused them of such snobbish notions.

According to prolific wing Mark Foster, one of four Kingsholm youngsters to have played in Red-and-Black this season, the shared sessions between the two clubs have changed many opinions at the Premiership outfit.

The 24-year-old has grabbed three tries in his first two appearances for Moseley, including the game-breaking score in Saturday's 23-11 derby victory over Pertemps Bees and, although he hopes to be back in a Gloucester shirt soon, he maintains time spent at Billesley Common is ideal preparation.

That positive attitude has meant Foster has adapted well to life with Ian Smith's men and he believes his top-flight team-mates are equally enthusiastic about the rewards of playing in the sport's second tier.

"It's a fantastic place to play," Foster says. "There is very little from a winger's perspective that is different between the First Division and the Premiership. Organisation, pace-wise and in conditioning, it's not that far apart.

"Some players might be a couple of kilos heavier or a couple of steps faster, but a lot of the players coming through here are fantastic youngsters or old heads dropping down a division.

"Someone like Jack Adams will benefit massively from playing down here. He showed some touches of class against Bees and is a great player for the future."

Adams, Foster and tighthead Jack Forster have been key components of a Moseley team that has won its first two league games and one that this weekend travels to Franklin's Gardens for a showdown with Northampton Saints, in buoyant mood.

It is also a team that is bound by a common goal. Up and down the country, young Premiership stars turn up at National One clubs and fail to show the necessary commitment to make a success of their posting.

Foster believes that is down to a disrespectful and out-dated misconception, one that has been corrected at Gloucester: "They [Moseley] turned up the first week of training and their backline took us apart," he reveals.

"They ran a blitz defence against us and basically smashed us off the park. We had Lesley Vainikolo at ten, me at 12 and they just went low and we could do absolutely nothing about it. They turned us over - a lot. They gave us a hiding up front, as well.

"That one session alone gave everyone at Gloucester massive respect for the boys up here. A lot of them have got other jobs but, when they come to the pitch, they really come to the pitch. There are no superstars or heroes but they go low and fight tooth and nail, just as you saw against Bees. They do it at training and on a Saturday.

"In the Premiership, there is a stereotypical view of the First Division, some of the older lads who are pushing 30 have not played in it for ten years. To them, it's just what it was, the ball not going past ten and big fat forwards.

"But I have been on loan at Newbury as a young lad and Pertemps Bees a couple of years ago, I know what it's about. There's people like Matt Jones, coming from the Ospreys, Andy Binns, Neil Mason and Nathan Bressington are class players who would fit in a lot of Premiership sides quite comfortably.

"Moseley have given the opportunity to play here, I have loved every minute of it. It's a part-time outfit but it's a fantastic bunch of lads, a great facility and a great team. I want to give them the respect they deserve by playing my best and giving my all."

A blistering sprint down the touchline and smart finish accounted for Nottingham and his scything break through the centres last weekend sealed a first derby victory for Moseley.

Opinions of that win split neatly into two camps; those who take the points at any cost and those who admit the display was not up to scratch, certainly not as good as seven days previously.

"Having been on loan at Bees, I know that it is a massive grudge match. There was a lot of hype in the week before it but we felt we prepared well," Foster said. "The game was very scrappy and fractured but a win is a win and if we'd been offered four points before the game we'd have taken them. It was a poor performance and there is a lot to work on."

It is not clear whether Foster can transfer his form to a Premiership setting when the Cherry-and-Whites travel to Leeds Carnegie on Sunday. Smith hopes to retain his leading scorer, otherwise James Bailey, who has had a strong pre-season, could be available.