The Celtic League, which kicks off this weekend, received the wholehearted endorsement of Ireland Coach Warren Gatland today.
Gatland welcomed the introduction of the league saying that it will "be good for players, good for the provinces and good for Ireland". He added that he has always advocated Irish players playing at the "highest level as often as possible" and a full season of competitive rugby will benefit the Irish side.
The lack of top class rugby for the provincial players certainly didn’t help Munster in their Heineken Cup campaigns over the last two years and with the Interprovincial series being now stretched out until May, any Irish side reaching the knockout stages of the tournament will benefit from playing competitive rugby going into the matches.
While Ulster won the title three years, ago they did so when playing the final in January, which up until now has effectively been the end of the season for the provinces.
The chairman of the Celtic League Committee, Syd Millar, said that the league will provide the Irish contracted players with a full season and create a level equivalent to the standard in France and England. Another benefit of the League will be the opportunity for players not in the international setup to showcase talents and gain more experience at a top level.
Millar, one of the main architects of the Celtic League, said that initially the league would be self-financing. He didn’t envisage a problem with the lack of a sponsor and cited the example of the Heineken Cup which had no sponsor at the beginning.
He added that the competition was an attractive one to sponsors and time could be taken to find the right backer, at the right price and right time.
The Celtic League offers three points for a win and one for a draw, with no bonus points in operation. Once the pool stages have been completed, the quarter-finals will be made up in the following fashion: First place Pool A (home advantage) versus fourth place Pool B; second place Pool A(home advantage) versus third place Pool B; second place Pool B(home advantage) versus third place Pool A; first place Pool B(home advantage) versus fourth place Pool A.
In the case of Munster versus Connacht on Tuesday, August 28th and Leinster versus Ulster on Friday, August 31st, when Irish provinces clash in pool games, these matches will also count in the Guinness interprovincial championship, when, in that context, there will be four points for a win, two for a draw, and one bonus point on offer for a team scoring four or more tries or for a team not beaten by more than seven points.