COMPARISONS of teams from differing eras are often bandied about in the hope of some sort of resolution.

It is an entertaining diversion but ultimately redundant when assessing who was the champion of champions.

Professional sport rarely sits still and the odds are that this present Worcester side would more than match the previous incumbents of the National One crown.

Saturday's victory at the County Ground set a new standard at National One level with 23 successive wins. It eclipsed the previous best of Rotherham's back in the 1999-2000 season.

With many of those Rotherham players still actively involved in rugby -- Dave Scully, Simon Binns, Mike Umaga, Mike Schmid and Simon Bunting -- the comparison with their Worcester counterparts would still be a relevant exercise.

More appropriate, perhaps, is looking at the reasons behind Rotherham's demise on the two occasions they dared to pop their heads over the National One parapet.

In both seasons, there has been one consistent factor. Namely the lack of it.

Each Rotherham promotion has been characterised by a host of P45s through the post and a total revamp of the playing staff.

Both times, it's led to one certainty -- failure and regret. Worcester, you have to suspect, are far too cute to do a Rotherham. They've made their mistakes on the way to promotion, learning the hard way that continuity has to be the base of any campaign.

"On both occasions, Rotherham got it wrong," lamented one observer this week who has watched the fortunes of the South Yorkshire club for the past 15 seasons.

"In the first season they were in the Premiership, the team which got them there was ripped apart and it has happened again this season.

"They've brought in a new South African coach, midway through the season, thrown a load of money at it and ended up with nothing more than a huge wage bill.

"They've ripped the heart out of both championship sides and basically forgot how they managed to win promotion. It's obviously a massive step to move from National One to the Premiership but if you reject the values of continuity then you are handicapping yourself before the season has even started."

Worcester's insistence that the first building blocks are John Brain and Andy Keast is a promising starting point. The two have revolutionised a club which once carried with it a reputation for a rugby retirement home rather than a model of success.

The focus next month with be squarely on the existing Sixways players as they sit down to talk about their futures. It will be a key time for the club after, next Saturday, they seal their passage to the promised land.

Ironically, Bristol -- another example of a failed Premiership expedition -- arrive at Sixways as the sacrificial lamb on April 3 and a Worcester victory will spark a celebration which will live long in the memory for countless supporters. What is to be hoped, however, is that the memory of success is not a short-term one.

Some quality additions are undoubtedly needed in order to compete in the top flight but the core of this championship side surely needs to be retained. The Premiership, as we have seen this season, is not a stage where you can start from scratch and fluff your lines on opening night. It tends to set a precedent.

"We recognise the need for continuity," said Brain, Worcester's director of rugby.

"We've always said that and we're pleased that our chairman Cecil Duckworth acknowledged that when he made it clear he wanted myself and Andy Keast on board before anything else was decided."

Close-season recruitment will this year be the most important so far in the club's history.

Big names in the market place are out of contract but can you be sure that 'stars' will give as much as say a Tony Windo or a Neil Lyman? And what is the value of an international who may miss a third of your season?

What's certain is that Worcester, with Brain and Keast aboard, have given themselves the best chance possible of getting it right.

They are sensible rugby men who know exactly what is required to be successful in the Premiership.

Crucially, however, they also recognise the road to failure. It is a well trodden path from National One to the Premiership such has been the toing and froing of clubs like Rotherham.

Brain and Keast know only too well that for Worcester to make it a one-way journey to the Premiership, there can be no room for passengers.