WORCESTER Warriors face away trips to Irish province Leinster and tournament newcomers Currie in the British & Irish Cup this season – and also host reigning champions Cornish Pirates as part of a triple header of home cup games.
Warriors’ cup campaign will kick-off on home soil on Sunday, December 12 (3pm) when the team will come face-to-face with Newport at Sixways.
Worcester travel to Edinburgh for the second game of the competition on the weekend of December 18 (full details to be confirmed) to face Scottish outfit Currie RFC, the Scottish Hydro Electric Premiership One champions.
Richard Hill’s men – who join fellow newcomers Melrose, Esher, Llandovery and Swansea in the tournament this season - next travel overseas on the weekend of January 15 to face Leinster at Donnybrook (full details to be confirmed).
Worcester complete the pool stages with home games against Plymouth Albion on Saturday, January 22 (3pm) and Cornish Pirates on Saturday, February 26 (3pm). Pirates lifted the inaugural trophy last month after beating Munster 23-14 at Camborne's Recreation Ground.
There will be five rounds as last season but an additional quarter final stage has been added with the top two from each pool progressing to the last eight.
Terry Burwell, British & Irish Cup director, said: "The inaugural British & Irish Cup was very positively received and gave players, coaches, referees and spectators a different level of competition to what they are used to.
"Anyone who was at the final or saw it on Sky Sports saw the appetite for cross-border cup rugby and I am sure this tournament, just like the Heineken Cup in its early days, will go from strength to strength.
"We have kept the same pool framework and reversed last season's fixtures wherever possible as we promised and we have included a quarter-final so that there is a greater opportunity for more teams to progress to the knock-out stages."
Meanwhile, Warriors will still be running an academy team in the ‘A’ League next season despite the senior team’s top flight relegation.
The Sixways young guns will again be in the Northern Conference where they will take on the academy teams from Premiership sides Leeds Carnegie, Northampton Wanderers, Sale Sharks, Leicester Tigers and Newcastle Falcons.
The club’s ‘A’ League home and away dates will be confirmed in the coming days and Warriors season ticket holders gain free entry to all ‘A’ League games played at Sixways.
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