Warriors took a trip into the unknown as they took on a Spanish side making their debut in the competition in glorious weather in Basque Country.

However, Richard Hill's men were in no mood to let new boys Gernika off the hook as they produced a powerful and ruthless display of rugby to run in 13 tries - itself a new record for the club in European competition - and overwhelm their hosts.

Andy Short, making his comeback after fracturing his wrist in the JP Morgan Asset Management Premiership Sevens Series at Kingsholm in July, grabbed a first half brace and there were also try doubles for Paul Hodgson, Ben Howard and Blair Cowan.

Max Stelling grabbed a 19-minute hat-trick off the bench on his senior debut while George Porter and Alex Grove also crossed the whitewash as Warriors eclipsed the club's previous best of 68-17 over Petrarca Padova in 2009.

Worcester were at their ruthless best from the start and had the all-important bonus point wrapped up within 24 minutes of blistering attacking rugby as Gernika were left to chase shadows and struggled to contain a power packed forward display.

Gernika had come into the game on the back of a tradition of forward dominance in the Spanish leagues - which had helped them secure five straight wins in the domestic competition.

But they were given a rude awakening by the Aviva Premiership club who immediately set about making a mark.

With a busy back row of captain Neil Best, Matt Kvesic and Number Eight Cowan at the forefront, Warriors flexed early muscle and pinned Gernika back with Joe Carlisle and Chris Pennell showing a dazzling range of kicks to touch.

A sign of things to come saw Warriors steal a lineout and drive over the Gernika line, only for the referee to adjudge the ball was held up.

The reprieve was shortlived as minutes later a huge driving lineout saw the hosts forced back and Cowan was at the back to touch down with Carlisle adding the extras.

Cowan duly repeated the feat five minutes later as a kick to the corner, following a penalty, saw Craig Gillies rise highest in the lineout to claim possession and the pack did the rest.

After spending the opening quarter of the game with the sun of their backs, the Worcester back division soon got in on the act. A home lineout misfired long and Kvesic gobbled up the ball before it was spun at pace down the line with Jon Clarke sending Ben Howard over

Warriors were producing some incisive attacking rugby and great continuity saw the team string phase after phase together with Ollie Hayes and Cowan again prominent. Clarke and Pennell also popped up out wide to find gaps.

A bonus point try looked inevitably and arrived before the half hour mark as comeback man Short showed he had lost none of his power and finishing skills to dot down, after Worcester had again shunted the home scrum apart.

Battling Gernika were looking for a platform to build upon, but were repeatedly guilty of throwing away possession with stray lineouts and handling errors. They were not aided by prop Fernando Iraizoz dragging Hodgson out of a ruck and dumping him on the floor to receive a yellow card.

Italian referee Guiseppe Vivarini took centre stage with a flurry of yellow cards in the closing minutes of the first half as Chris Jones was sent to the sin bin alongside Igor Mirones following a bust-up. And Cowan also went after the referee penalised him on the floor.

In between the escalating card drama, Warriors stretched further away as Pennell applied a flat pass to send Short over for his second of the game before, in the final play of the half, Hodgson capitalised on fine work from Clarke to score under the posts.

Worcester changed the entire front row at half-time and prop Porter was immediately on the score sheet as Howard and Hodgson, with a delightful blind pass over his head to finish, joined forces to tear Gernika apart.

The visiting forwards continued to dominate the collisions with Cowan and Best both just stopped short and held up by a spirited Spanish outfit while the always inventive Josh Matavesi and Carlisle probed for openings.

The home side were beginning to visible tire as Hodgson scrambled over from close range before being replaced by Frost.

Gernika were rewarded for their endeavour as wing Federico Mazzochi polished off a line break by collecting a long floated pass to score in the corner.

However, one-way traffic soon resumed as Howard glided in the corner before Stelling took centre stage as holes started to open up.

With Worcester now looking to play from all corners of the pitch, Stelling capitalised to run in three teams tries in quick-fire time while replacement Grove also crossed as Warriors cut loose in devastating fashion before the final whistle.

Timeline:

07m Cowan t Carlisle c 0-7

12m Cowan t Carlisle c 0-14

15m Howard t 0-19

24m Short t Carlisle c 0-26

34m Short t Carlisle c 0-33

40m Hodgson t Carlisle c 0-40

42m Porter t Carlisle c 0-47

51m Hodgson t Carlisle c 0-54

60m Mazzochi t 5-54

65m Howard t 5-59

74m Stelling t 5-64

77m Stelling t Carlisle c 5-71

79m Grove t Carlisle c 5-78

80m Stelling t Carlisle c 5-85

Warriors: 01 Ceri Jones (Porter 40), 02 Ollie Hayes (Shervington 40), 03 James Currie (O'Donnell 40), 04 Chris Jones, 05 Craig Gillies (Schofield 61), 06 Neil Best, 07 Matt Kvesic (Abbott 61), 08 Blair Cowan, 09 Paul Hodgson (Frost 52), 10 Joe Carlisle, 11 Andy Short (Stelling 61), 12 Josh Matavesi (Grove 61), 13 Jon Clarke, 14 Ben Howard, 15 Chris Pennell

Replacements: 16 Ed Shervington, 17 George Porter, 18 Rob O'Donnell, 19 Dean Schofield, 20 Jake Abbott, 21 Ollie Frost, 22 Max Stelling, 23 Alex Grove

Gernika: 01 Michael Dias, 02 Unai Lasa, 03 Fernando Iraizoz (Bilbao 41), 04 Oscar Astarloa (Urrutia 39), 05 Gregorio Zabaloy (Duran 56), 06 Jon Magunazelaia, 07 David Hernandez (Lopategi 71), 08 Afa Amosa, 09 Igor Mirones (Garcia 54), 10 Declan Cusack, 11 Inigo Olaeta (Martitegi 41), 12 Winston Wilson, 13 Alessandro Torres, 14 Federico Mazzochi, 15 Santiago Salas

Replacements: 16 Inigo Urrutia, 17 Nicola Bilbao, 18 Iker Monje, 19 Santaigo Duran, 20 Iker Lopategi, 21 Aitor Etxebarria, 22 Aitzol Martitegi, 23 Carlos Garcia