South Africa brings new plan to Celtic League table

Competition proposalsProposals for a new early-season 24-team competition involving the 11 Celtic League teams, the nine Currie Cup teams in South Africa and the top four Italian clubs - as well as an expansion of the Celtic League to accommodate the Italian quartet - were discussed at a Celtic League board meeting in Bristol yesterday.

The odds must be against such an ambitious project being ratified and put into place in time for the start of next season, but discussions between the Irish, Scots, Italians and South Africans had intensified in the last three weeks. This was in light of the Welsh intimating that next season's agreed itinerary for the Celtic League might have to be redrawn in view of their own negotiations with the RFU and the BBC for an Anglo-Welsh Cup.

As events transpired, the latter proposal appears to have died a death, primarily for logistical reasons, as the RFU were insistent that an Anglo-Welsh Cup would have to include four first division teams, as well as their 12 Premiership clubs and the four Welsh districts.

The South African Rugby Football Union, in the meantime, turned their attention to the Celts when their proposals for a joint competition with the English clubs floundered. Their proposal apparently comes with assurances for broadcasting and sponsorship, and would be held in September and October.

A 24-team competition would be relatively easy to organise, be it along Heineken Cup lines with six groups of four or, say, eight groups of three, with teams playing their away matches in one bloc ala the southern hemisphere Super 12.

Meanwhile, the Italians have been pushing for inclusion in the Celtic League as they desperately need to provide better competition for their sides prior to them entering the European competitions.

However, it would seem that the likeliest way they could be accommodated in an expanded Celtic League would be if the South African proposal comes on board.

In that scenario, a two-month early-season competition with the South Africans could compensate for the reduction in Celtic League matches from 20 to 14, with each team playing each other once and having seven home matches and seven away.

But reducing the Celtic League to 14 matches, without an additional competition, looks unlikely even if it came with play-offs while expanding the Celtic League from 20 matches to 28 to include the Italians is even more improbable.

However, the likeliest outcome at this juncture is that the status quo was ratified yesterday, ie a 20-match Celtic League confined to the Irish, Welsh and Scots as agreed a month ago.