WHEN Nick Baxter revisits the stage he lit up so spectacularly during his six years at Worcester, he may well reflect on the transient nature of the sporting hero.

Sixways' prodigal son returns to his spiritual home on Saturday with a Birmingham & Solihull side hoping to derail Worcester's promotion bid.

But even the winger, who served the National One club so gloriously during their rise through the leagues, must wonder why his contribution wasn't rewarded with a new contract in the summer.

When the angst eases a little and the dust begins to settle, he will realise he is in good company.

Rugby has always been associated with honour and just reward but with the onslaught of the professional era and the march of the plc ethos, the game has altered irrevocably. The sport today will inevitably take the best of a man and spit out the rest.

It is simply the way it is for clubs who want to make their presence felt in the top flight. The exodus at Kingsholm where Philipe Saint-Andre is knocking down the remaining Gloucester pillars shows the lengths chairmen are happy to go to for the promise of success. Kingsley Jones and Dave Sims, both synonymous with Gloucester, have had to move on after 'professional decisions'. There are plenty of examples but the point is scarcely in need of reinforcement. In the race for the top, professional rugby holds no place for sentimentality.

You have to wonder why Baxter thought his situation would be different? Maybe because he remains out on his own in terms of performance, because when you look at the reasons why Worcester are one step away from the big time you cannot ignore his contribution. Top scorer in the 1998 season with a record tally of 29 tries, he was the battering ram which had forced the National One door open. His release in the summer though, after a disappointing final campaign, meant there was to be no happy ending.

And as his new career in marketing begins to take shape, the 28-year-old is coming to terms with life after Worcester.

"I am not looking to get back into professional sport," he said. "I am trying to carve out a career in marketing. I'm 28 now and it's probably about time I was in gainful employment. The longer I left it, it was always going to be more difficult to get into. Obviously I've got my degree so I'm looking around at the moment while I'm training and playing for Birmingham."

Baxter will undoubtedly receive a standing ovation at Sixways when he runs out on the field. His respect among the supporters comes from a bond formed from his actions on and off the pitch. Unlike the spiteful parting remarks of most professional players in today's hostile climate, the marketing graduate will enjoy the day without uttering a harsh word towards his former employers.

"I wish them all the best. I always will. Of course I was disappointed at the time when I was not part of their plans but you have to move forward. I had some wonderful seasons at Worcester and made great friends. I have no regrets and will enjoy coming back to see some familiar faces on Saturday."

A bit like two reconciled divorcees, Baxter will shake chief executive Geoff Cooke's hand at the weekend when the two meet. Cooke's decision to let the crowd favourite go was not greeted with universal acclaim by supporters and he freely admits it was a tough judgement to make.

"Nick was such a popular guy at the club - we all wish him well," Cooke said. "We just don't want him to play well against us! He will though ... he will.

"It's those sort of decisions that are the hard ones. Guys who have been part of the fabric of the club and really popular. He is good personality, good for the dressing room.

"I'm afraid though that you have to be fairly hard-nosed about it. We have got to get this club in the Premiership."

And that was that for Baxter. Into Sixways came Canada's all-time record try scorer Winston Stanley while Australian winger Chris Garrard has already made himself an instant hero with the Worcester faithful after four tries on his weekend debut.

That there was no contract on the table should not have taken Baxter by surprise. The fact that it did shows the contrast between the amateur days and the realities of professional sport. Baxter is a rugby man through and through, brought up on the back of a time where you were a clubman for life after such service. Times, though, have changed. The sport, rather than an extension of life, is billed as an entertaining detachment.

It now parades itself as an escape from the realities of real life. But that is for the terraces and the executive boxes.

Down below, the sport meets those realities. And the rugby men, however great, always lose.