Warriors will go into uncharted territory when they take on Saracens in Friday’s Premiership Rugby Cup semi-final at Sixways (kick-off 7.45pm).
Although Warriors have won the British & Irish Cup (2015) and the North Midlands Cup three times this is the first time that they have progressed beyond the last 16 of a major domestic cup competition.
Sunday’s dramatic 35-23 win over Wasps at Sixways secured Warriors top ranking in the new-look competitionand guaranteed them a home tie in the knockout stages.
For older Warriors fans this season’s cup exploits will bring back happy memories of the 1997/98 season when Premiership clubs Bristol and Newcastle Falcons were visitors to Sixways.
Warriors, then a third division club, stunned Bristol 14-12 in the fourth round with wing Simon Morris scored a 90 metre interception try after six minutes and full-back Tim Smith kicked three penalties, the last in injury time.
Warriors missed out on a place in the quarter-finals but made Newcastle, then defending Premiership champions, graft for a 10-0 victory in the fifth round.
Worcester first appeared in a national cup competition in the 1982/83 season when, having qualified by winning the North Midlands Cup the previous season, they edged out Stoke Old Boys from Coventry 10-6 in the first round of the John Player Cup before going down 13-3 at Fylde in the second round.
It was ten more years before the next national cup appearance when an away win at Chesterfield in the first round of the Pilkington Cup was followed by a 39-15 home defeat by higher-ranked Nottingham in the second.
Ten consecutive seasons of national cup rugby as the title sponsored changed from Pilkington, to Tetley’s Bitter to Powergen and Warriors marched up the league pyramid.
Warriors reached the fourth round in 1995/96 by beating Kendal, Birmingham & Solihull and Liverpool St Helens before they went down 27-12 at Bedford.
Warriors reached the last 16 in 2002/03 when comfortable victories over Bracknell and Manchester were followed by a one point win at lower-ranked Halifax and defeat by Leicester Tigers at Welford Road in the sixth round.
Before that Warriors had also reached the fifth round in successive seasons between 2000 and 2002. They went down 42-13 to Saracens at Vicarage Road in the 2000/01 Tetley’s Bitter Cup after they had easily disposed of Moseley and Tynedale in the earlier rounds.
Warriors reached the fifth round again in 2003/04 with home wins over Harrogate and Exeter Chiefs before they were beaten by a point at Wakefield.
Promotion to the Premiership earned Warriors entry to the Powergen Cup at the sixth round stage in 2004/05 where they were beaten 9-7 by London Irish at Sixways.
After that the competition ceased to be a straight knockout and a group format was adopted for the Anglo-Welsh Cup which was introduced in 2005 and continued before being replaced by the Premiership Rugby Cup this season.
Tickets for Warriors v Saracens in the Premiership Rugby Cup semi-final on February 8 can be purchased by clicking here.
Warriors’ record in major domestic knockout cups
1982/83: John Player Cup Round 1: Warriors 10 Stoke OB 6, Round 2: Fylde 13 Warriors 3.
1992/93: Pilkington Cup Round 1: Chesterfield 8 Warriors 13, Round 2: Warriors 15 Nottingham 39.
1995/96: Pilkington Cup Round 1: Warriors 30 Kendal 17, Round 2: Birmingham & Solihull 14 Warriors 19, Round 3: Warriors 24 Liverpool St Helens 8, Round 4: Bedford 27 Warriors 13.
1996/97: Pilkington Cup Round 1: Warriors 59 Vale of Lune 8, Round 2: Cheltenham 30 Warriors 22.
1997/98: Tetley’s Bitter Cup Round 2: Warriors 28 Leeds 11, Round 3: Wharfedale 8 Warriors 29, Round 4: Warriors 14 Bristol 12, Round 5: Warriors 0 Newcastle 10.
1998/99 Tetley’s Bitter Cup Round 3: Coventry 26 Warriors 36, Round 4: Gloucester 31 Warriors 17.
1999/2000: Tetley’s Bitter Cup Round 1: Kendal 27 Warriors 44, Round 4: Warriors 8 London Irish 12.
2000/01: Tetley’s Bitter Cup Round 3: Moseley 6 Warriors 34, Round 4: Tynedale 12 Warriors 76, Round 5: Saracens 42 Warriors 13.
2001/02: Powergen Cup Round 3: Lydney 3 Warriors 45, Round 4: Moseley 3 Warriors 50, Round 5: Warriors 19 Rotherham 26.
2002/03: Powergen Cup Round 3: Bracknell 5 Warriors 73, Round 4: Warriors 73 Manchester 12, Round 5: Halifax 12 Warriors 13, Round 6: Leicester Tigers 36 Warriors 9.
2003/04: Powergen Cup Round 3: Warriors 59 Harrogate 0, Round 4: Warriors 33 Exeter Chiefs 27, Round 5: Wakefield 18 Warriors 17.
2004/05 Powergen Cup Round 6: Warriors 7 London Irish 9.