Celtic League collapses Welsh retain Celtic League hope

The Welsh teams have been ejected after agreeing to join a revamped Anglo-Welsh Powergen Cup competition with England's Premiership clubs.

Scottish and Irish teams now plan to face each other next season, leaving Wales to try to cobble together a domestic league of their own.

Here BBC Sport looks at the issues arising from the decision to exclude the Welsh.

There are several reasons why the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) took the risk which led to them being kicked out of the Celtic League.

The Celtic League cannot be classed a roaring success, even if it has been better than any of the domestic competitions that preceded it in Wales in the professional age.

Scottish sides have brought little to the party and the Irish have not always taken the tournament seriously.

PROPOSED ANGLO-WELSH POOLS Pool 1: Bath, Bristol, Gloucester, Ospreys Pool 2: Blues, Leeds, Newcastle, Sale Pool 3: Dragons, Leicester, Northampton, Worcester Pool 4: London Irish, Scarlets, Saracens, Wasps

Celtic League matches simply do not ignite the passions like traditional Anglo-Welsh fixtures - or even the old Welsh inter-town games - and attendances have been disappointing.

The Welsh authorities believe an Anglo-Welsh cup can be fitted into the fixture list early in the season and that it will be a big money spinner.

At best, the Welsh sides would still have a domestic competition that would create some interest, an attractive Anglo-Welsh Cup competition, the potential to advance in the Heineken Cup and interest from TV broadcasters.

Nevertheless, the implications of being thrown out make pretty grim reading for the Welsh regions.

It would leave them with a guarantee of just nine games a season from the Heineken Cup and the Anglo-Welsh Cup (assuming this goes ahead).

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A domestic competition would probably be established, but with just four professional regions the options are limited, while games against Italian or South African sides appear unrealistic.

The dearth of fixtures is likely to be crippling to the fledgling Welsh regions, which are already under severe financial pressure, and could potentially end professional rugby in Wales.

That could lead to the best Welsh players heading to England and France, leaving no competitive Welsh sides in the Heineken Cup and impacting hugely on the national team.

The Scottish view is that the Welsh come out of this the worst - and that the crisis is the result of the hunger of the Welsh clubs for more money and their long-term aim of playing in a league with English teams.

Their clubs could be �200,000 richer but then find themselves knocked out of the new Powergen Cup competition in the first round and have no other competitive fixtures for the rest of the season, other than in Europe.

The Welsh reputation as honourable negotiators has also been damaged

Their reputation as honourable negotiators has also been damaged and the Scottish Rugby Union (SRU) is angry, feeling it has been double-crossed by its Welsh counterpart.

There are claims that the Welsh have reneged on an agreement not to have club fixtures on international weekends - Welsh participation in the Anglo-Welsh Cup would force some Celtic League matches to be played without capped players.

Ideally, the Irish, Scots and Welsh would all prefer a British league - but the English do not.

And the SRU is gambling on forcing the Welsh back into the Celtic League fold.

The Scottish-Irish league is sustainable in the short term and there may be some savings due to less travel and fewer teams to share the money around.

And club sponsors are mainly attracted to the game because of the exposure offered by the Heineken Cup, rather than the Celtic League.

But by kicking the Welsh out, there will be a more barren fixture list and a lesser level of competition and the Scottish-Irish league will be unattractive to supporters because of the lack of teams.

Although Ireland were angry with Wales' decision to create the Anglo-Irish Cup, the decision to eject their former partners looks like a huge blow for the Irish provinces as there will be fewer meaningful matches for the 2005-06 season.

The ramifications are huge Leinster chief executive Mick Dawson

The Irish RFU will be seeking matches against southern hemisphere opposition next season, in addition to the new Irish-Scots league competition involving three clubs from each country.

There are financial implications because sponsors were already on board for next season.

"The ramifications are huge," said Leinster chief executive Mick Dawson.

But there have not been any suggestions that professional rugby in Ireland is under threat.

Ulster chief executive Mike Reid said if it is a one-year blip it is a problem they can survive - 2,000 people have already signed up for Ulster season tickets next season.

And Reid says in future any agreement on a Celtic League should be for a set term, such as five years, to provide stability.

Whatever happens there is one conclusion to be drawn.

The Celtic League may not be the most successful or respected of competitions, but without it the future looks bleak for Celtic rugby.