Taulava made the summer move to the Aviva Premiership and Worcester from Titans and the huge powerhouse forward returned to haunt his old team-mates by grabbing a brutal first half brace.

Drauniniu, Shaun Perry, Aleki Lutui also crossed during an emphatic opening 40-minute period as the home side took control and put down a marker ahead of the new campaign.

The momentum continued in the second half as Max Stelling and Jonny Arr dotted down while the free running Drauniniu finished off a slick team move as Worcester ran in eight tries.

Taulava, sure to become a crowd favourite, made an immediate impact as he thundered down the middle in the opening minute and into contact before Stelling neatly passed to release Ben Howard and Chris Pennell down the wing.

Rotherham were keeping the game tight in the opening minutes but were guilty of losing the ball deep in their own 22 before a knock on denied Josh Matavesi as he looked to touch the loose ball down.

The Titans, renowned for their forward grit under coach Andre Bester, were employing a forward orientated game plan in the open ten minutes to try and deny Warriors any possession.

A driving lineout saw Warriors shunt the visitors back before the ball was shipped down the line to the ever alert Drauniniu who touched down in the corner using the overlap.

England Under-18 centre Stelling showed his elusive running style to break and win a penalty while Matavesi was inches from collecting a kind bounce after Andy Goode saw his chip ahead charged down.

Matavesi was again almost the beneficiary of the ball spitting out of the back of a visiting ruck before the second try of the night as Drauniniu danced past men and released the pass out of the final tackle to send Perry over to score for a 12-0 lead.

A stray lineout throw lost Rotherham a strong attacking platform while Goode produced a peach of a kick to the corner to put the Titans right on the back foot and the resulting catch and drive saw Taulava driven over against his former employers.

More slick hands saw Worcester awarded a penalty as Eamoon Sheridan failed to roll away from the tackle. But the decision was reversed as Goode was yellow carded for a stray boot off the ball.

The momentum was still with Warriors, though, and another big drive saw Taulava again shunt his huge frame over the line for a 24-0 lead.

Hooker Aleki Lutui was providing real forward grunt as he bounced a tackler off him and the possession and territory was firmly in Worcester's favour as Goode returned to the game.

And within seconds the strong running Tongan front rower took the ball on after Rotherham repelled several attacks and bashed his way over. Goode added the extras for a commanding 31-0 lead at the break.

Worcester made six changes at the break as they looked to use the replacements bench to full extent and Titans struck as Rory Pitman drove over in the corner after a period of sustained pressure on the home line.

Stelling marked his full home debut by finishing off a superb attacking move as wing pace ace Drauniniu cut the line with ease to ghost past three men and fed Pennell who drew the final man and released the young centre over to score.

Drauniniu threatened to run away and in from deep with another brilliant jinking run before grabbing his second of the night as he collected Goode's chip ahead and touched down to finish a silky move.

The eighth try of the night came as Arr raced over after more sustained home forward pressure and Joe Carlisle added the extras to bring up the half century.

The Titans continued to try and play against a now much changed Warriors line-up as they probed for a gap to exploit. They were rewarded as a slack tackle saw them work space for Michael Noone to score a late effort.

Timeline:

08m Drauniniu t 5-0

13m Perry t Goode c 12-0

21m Taulava t Goode c 19-0

28m Taulava t 24-0

35m Lutui t Goode c 31-0

42m Pitman t 31-5

48m Stelling t 36-5

55m Drauniniu t Goode c 43-5

61m Arr t Carlisle c 50-5

77m Noone t 50-10

Warriors: 01 Matt Mullan (Porter 40), 02 Aleki Lutui (Hayes 40), 03 John Andress (O'Donnell 40), 04 James Percival (Gillies 40), 05 Dean Schofield (Boyce 60), 06 Chris Jones (Dacres 40), 07 Matt Kvesic, 08 Semisi Taulava (Taylor 46), 09 Shaun Perry (Arr 50), 10 Andy Goode (T Carlisle 58), 11 Josh Drauniniu (Wardle 65), 12 Josh Matavesi (J Carlisle 40, Nellany 65), 13 Max Stelling, 14 Ben Howard, 15 Chris Pennell (Evans 60)

Replacements: 16 Ollie Hayes, 17 George Porter, 18 Rob O'Donnell, 19 Craig Gillies, 20 Nile Dacres, 21 Andrew Boyce, 22 Sam Betty, 23 Ed Taylor, 24 Jonny Arr, 25 Joe Carlisle, 26 Joe Nellany, 27 Tom Carlisle, 28 Jack Wardle, 29 Iolo Evans