The Scotsman reports

Welsh warning as they seek way back into Celtic league

MARION TRACE

SCOTTISH and Irish rugby chiefs will meet their Welsh counterparts at Heathrow today for talks on reviving next season's Celtic League, which will be crucial for the future of professional rugby in Scotland.

The Scottish and Irish Rugby Unions scrapped the league for a season, tossed Wales out and set up a new Scots-Irish competition at the end of last month after the Welsh signed up to a new, lucrative Anglo-Welsh Cup with England's Zurich Premiership sides, and then insisted some Celtic League matches would thus have to be moved to the same weekends as internationals, and possibly downgraded.

That would have led many Scots and Irish players to taking part in a season reduced to less than 17 games as a result.

The plan was for the Celtic League to resume the following season, with Italian teams replacing the Welsh, and presumably under another name.

Ahead of the meeting, Welsh Rugby Union chief Steve Lewis yesterday warned his Irish and Scottish counterparts they will be "cutting their own throats along with ours" if a deal cannot be agreed to revive next season's Celtic League.

He warned: "Our broadcasters will leave us, sponsors will walk away and the fans simply won't have the same level of rugby to watch. We believe we have found more than one way for the Celtic League season to support our plan to play in the Anglo-Welsh Cup.

"If the Scots and Irish turn down those plans then they will simply be cutting their own throats along with ours."

What is certain is that the Scots and Irish representatives will take some persuasion to let the Welsh back in.

"The WRU and its four regions are totally committed to the Celtic League. It is our bread and butter, our main ranking tournament for European competition.

"We simply have to find a way through this or we are all going to suffer."

• Scotland coach Iain Paxton has drafted in four fresh faces for today's match against Canada in the IRB Under-21 World Championship in Mendoza.

Forwards John Beattie, Ian Nimmo and Alan MacDonald and stand-off Michael Adamson are the players called up for a game the Scots must win after defeats to Australia and Wales.

Paxton also announced that Melrose stand-off Scott Wight is flying out as a replacement for the injured David Blair, who damaged a hamstring within the first 15 minutes of Monday's loss to Wales. Blair will stay on for treatment.

Scotland Under-21s (v Canada in Mendoza today, 6pm BST): A Nash; B Addison, B Cairns, G Law, N De Luca; M Adamson, A McFarlane (capt); S Fenwick, R Ford, M Low, S Tomes, I Nimmo, C White, J Beattie, A MacDonald. Subs: S Lawrie, S Corsar, J Eddie, S Forrest, G Laidlaw, I Kennedy, D Flockhart.

This article was posted on 17-Jun-2005, 07:25 by Hugh Barrow.