THIS season, Worcester's ambitious rugby club has been within touching distance of promotion to the top flight.

But, after a period of unbroken success in which the club has climbed from the depths of the lower leagues, the Premiership is still out of reach.

Such a state of affairs is not just disappointing for the club and its supporters but for the city as a whole.

We all know how sporting success puts a city on the map and, if Worcester was able to one day boast top level competition in rugby and football, as well as cricket, the whole community would benefit.

From that point of view alone, the runners-up spot in National One might be good enough for some but not for Worcester, whose millionaire chairman Cecil Duckworth has proved time and time again that he wants nothing but the best for his city.

It was clear that the changes would have to be rung among the personnel at Sixways and already we have begun to see changes in the players' ranks.

Now, coach Adrian Skeggs is leaving the club.

Fans of sport know in their heart of hearts that continuity in management, in players and in style is the way to produce lasting success.

Eyes have only to be cast at the Liverpool football teams of the 1970s and 80s, the Bath rugby sides of the past 20 years, or the Australian cricket set-up, to see proof of the fact that stability breeds success.

But first, as in all successful enterprises, a blueprint has to be established and, in Worcester's case, that has not yet happened.

Mr Duckworth is crystal clear in his thinking. "There's no point in continuity for continuity's sake," he says. "If things are not working, they have to be changed."

Adrian Skeggs, for all his skills, has had to pay the price.