Media Questions Over Celtic League’s Well-Being

The Celtic League may be threatened by the withdrawal of Wales’ representatives, according to an article published in the Sunday Independent.

Following a “fraught” meeting between Celtic League representatives in Dublin last week, there is increasing media speculation as to the future of the league competition – won twice in the last two years by Welsh sides.

Referring to Thursday’s meeting, Brendan Fanning said: “By the end of the get-together it was easy to envisage a scenario where the usual rows could be put to one side, because literally there would be nothing left to play for.”

On the highlighted prospect of Welsh sides competing in England’s Powergen Cup, he added: “It is ironic that, on the eve of Ireland treating the Celtic eague as a meaningful competition and using it as the sole means for our provinces qualifying for the Heineken Cup – the League itself faces extinction.”

“Once the momentum for a breakaway gathers a bit of pace, there could be no stopping it. The breakaway in question is more of a reunion really: the Anglo-Welsh alliance.

“Wales have their big four clubs – Cardiff, Llanelli, Swansea and Newport – dressed up as the regions. Meanwhile, across the bridge in England, the Powergen Cup is not what it sounds. Aside from the route it offers into the Heineken Cup, it has lost much of its appeal. It needs a revamp. And that’s where the Welsh come in.”

If an Anglo-Welsh Powergen Cup gets the go-ahead, then what path can the Celtic League go down? It will be at the expense of a number of Celtic League weekends that Wales’ regions will be allowed participate against their English neighbours. That likely scenario could see the league lose high-profile players and supporters as they are force to schedule their own fixtures against full Tests – as happened last November during the autumn international series.

Fanning concluded: “The Welsh painted this picture last Thursday. It didn’t go down well, not least because the Powergen Cup will be the thin end of the wedge. Next stop an Anglo-Welsh League, which will require Wales reversing out of the Celtic relationship altogether and into a high quality competition. And where will that leave the rest of us?”