Warriors opened their Premiership Rugby Cup campaign in spectacular fashion with a ten try demolition of a young Bristol Bears side at Sixways.
An outstanding team performance was orchestrated by Billy Searle, co-captain for the day, who contributed 23 points with nine conversions, many of them from acute angles, and the final try a minute from time.
Wing Jack Johnson marked his debut with a long range try and scrum-half Gareth Simpson and replacement wing Tom Howe grabbed a brace of tries each but all 23 players – 13 of whom have come through the Three Warriors Academy – played their part in an entertaining contest.
Two of those players – Ollie Wynn and Finn Theobald-Thomas – are still in the academy and made their debuts off the bench having gained valuable senior experience on loan at Ampthill and Stourbridge this season.
With Steve Diamond, who will start his role as Lead Rugby Consultant a week on Monday, watching from a hospitality box in the East Stand Warriors produced 80 minutes of sustained attacking rugby based on the solid foundations of a committed performance from the pack.
Simpson got the scoreboard moving when he finished off a break from Alex Hearle after five minutes although Bristol responded with a try of their own from scrum-half Theo Strang.
But Ioan Lloyd missed the conversion and that was as close as Bristol got.
Harri Doel, a livewire at full-back, powered over for Warriors second try – and his first for the club – and although Lloyd found the target with a 17th minute penalty Warriors decided the contest by scoring three tries in a devastating ten minute spell at the end of the first half.
Simpson got his second after Hearle made ground and Doel supported the break before delivered the scoring pass to the scrum-half.
Howe, who has spent most of the season on loan at Coventry, made his presence felt after he came on as an early replacement for Will Butler, who limped off with a knee injury in the opening exchanges, by scoring the bonus point try.
Marc Thomas was driven over from close range before Bristol were reduced to 14 men when full-back Charlie Powell was sent off for taking Doel out in the air.
Powell was full of contrition but it was an easy decision for referee Anthony Woodthorpe to make although Warriors lost Doel, who failed a head injury assessment, too.
Despite the enforced reshuffles to the back division, Warriors adapted well and started the second half as they had ended the first with Howe finishing off a sustained counter-attack with a try in the clubhouse corner and Johnson showing his paces from the re-start to beat the defence to a kick ahead and score on his debut and his birthday.
Bristol pulled back a try from Mitch Eadie but Warriors brought up the half century when Tom Dodd drove over from a series of five metre lineouts.
Fin Smith, who slotted easily into the midfield, got his first senior try from another confident attack before Searle put the seal on a brilliant individual display by finishing off an attack when he gathered a long kick out of defence and ran it back at Bristol.
Warriors | 15 Harri Doel (Smith 39), 14 Alex Hearle, 13 Oli Morris, 12 Will Butler (Howe 10), 11 Jack Johnson, 10 Billy Searle (CC), 9 Gareth Simpson (Wynn 62), 1 Marc Thomas (Owen 62), 2 Isaac Miller (CC) (Theobald-Thomas 52) , 3 Jay Tyack (J Morris 62), 4 Andrew Kitchener, 5 Justin Clegg (Bresler 52-71) (Kvesic 71), 6 Joe Batley, 7 Tom Dodd, 8 Matt Kvesic (Lewis 55).
Replacements | 16 Finn Theobald-Thomas, 17 Kai Owen, 18 Joe Morris, 19 Anton Bresler, 20, Sam Lewis, 21 Ollie Wynn, 22 Fin Smith, 23 Tom Howe.
Timeline
5m | Simpson try 5-0
6m | Searle con 7-0
8m | Strang try 7-5
11m | Doel try 12-5
12m | Searle con 14-5
18m | Lloyd pen 14-8
27m | Simpson try 19-8
28m | Searle con 21-8
32m | Howe try 26-8
33m | Searle con 28-8
37m | Thomas try 33-8
38m | Searle con 35-8
44m | Howe try 40-8
45m | Searle con 42-8
46m | Johnson try 47-8
54m | Eadie try 47-13
57m | Dodd try 52-13
58m | Searle con 54-13
62m | Smith try 59-13
63m | Searle con 61-13
79m | Searle try 66-13
80m | Searle con 68-13