WORCESTER Warriors-bound lock Darren Barry is waiting to discover whether he will be arriving at a Premiership or Championship club.

The giant Cornish Pirates second row agreed a deal with Warriors earlier this year which will see him join the ranks in the summer after three years in Penzance.

But he won't know the competition in which Warriors will ply their trade next season until the climax of their Championship play-off final second leg against Bristol on Wednesday (7.45pm).

It must be a feeling of limbo for Bristol-born Barry who has played twice at Sixways this term – including for the Championship XV against Canada.

And it's a scenario with which experienced lock James Percival is familiar after he agreed to re-join Worcester from Harlequins in 2011.

“I remember when Worcester reached the Championship play-offs in 2011 and were almost beaten by Bedford in the semi-finals,” recalled Percival.

“Bedford had nothing to lose – Worcester had everything to lose.

“I had just signed for Worcester and I listened to the Bedford match on the radio to see whether I would be playing in the Premiership or the Championship. Thankfully, it came right in the end.”

In that semi-final against Bedford four years ago, Kai Horstmann's late try gave Warriors a 23-22 victory in a dramatic one-off tie.

Horstmann bundled his way over in the 77th minute and Joe Carlisle landed the conversion to put the Warriors ahead for the first time.

There was further drama because Bedford got into field position for a drop-goal attempt, which sailed wide.

Worcester booked their return to the Premiership with a 46-32 aggregate success against Pirates in a two-legged final.

Meanwhile, experienced back row forward Jonathan Thomas believes Barry will be an excellent addition to Warriors’ squad.

“We haven’t got a huge amount of depth in that area but any quality player will be welcomed with open arms into the club as long as he doesn’t knock me out of the team,” he said.

“You are never quite sure until players turn up but the coaches know which players they are looking for and it will be interesting to see how new guys adapt.

“Worcester Warriors are a great environment for players to come into and I am sure Darren and the other new faces will thrive in it.”