IT was easily the hardest decision of his rugby career -- but after hours of thought Ali McLaughlin has decided to swap his Worcester shirt for a Stourbridge one.

His loan deal announced this week ends a run at Worcester which stretches back 15 years to when he played for the club's Under Eights.

Any one-club man will find it hard looking elsewhere, but a need for competitive league action sees him as the first of an experiment between the two clubs.

The deal thrashed out by Geoff Cooke at Worcester and Stourbridge chairman Norman Robertson means he could be back at Sixways within 48 hours.

Stourbridge are in the thick of the promotion race in Jewson Two North, but the 23-year-old centre still found it a wrench to make even a temporary move to a new club.

"It's a tough decision to move away from something I'm so connected to but there's not a lot of loyalty left in rugby," he said.

"But looking at the situation I'm not getting an opportunity in the first team and I just want to play, I need to be playing for points.

"We're not getting the most games in the second team and certainly not meaningful games and I'm finding myself going a little bit stale.

"I'm happy with the way things have worked out because I'm not totally leaving and hopefully there will be reports going back on how I'm playing."

McLaughlin might still only be 23 but is still one of the old guard at Worcester having spent the last six seasons with the first team.

After leaving RGS Worcester, professional rugby meant he became the first Worcester player to be given a car as he drove back from Liverpool John Moore's University to play on Saturdays.

He is also one of the youngest to play in the first team although McLaughlin believes the record holder is scrum-half Steve Powell.

But the Worcester link will still continue as he will be linking up with other former Worcester players at Stourbridge including lock Nick Tisdale, winger Rich Wylde and flanker Spencer Bradley.

"I went up to training for the first time this week and saw plenty of old friends," added McLaughlin.

"I also played with a lot of the others in Midlands teams."