Tougher times ahead

RUGBY: It may remain a sponsorless and rudderless ship, but the Celtic League promises to be far more competitive second time round. The bookmakers have installed Leinster and Munster as favourites but there's nothing tempting about their odds.

Whereas last season the Irish players had benefited from a trip to Spala, and the provinces had no interruptions, this time the big two have had no preparation, and no sooner are they granted a glimpse of their stars this week, than they are set to lose more than 16 of their players for the subsequent four rounds of the pool stages.

Furthermore, in one of the anomalies of an event divided into two groups of eight, all bar Ulster of the provinces have four away games and three at home.

The top four in each pool progress to the last eight, with the leading two in each securing home quarter-finals. Alan Solomons' squad, who have won their last seven games at Ravenhill, would appear to have the best chance of procuring a home quarter-final.

In last season's inaugural competition, there were 21 games between the Irish and Welsh, with the provinces winning 19 of them.

The Welsh, though, had been harder hit by the Lions' tour and are expected to be a different proposition this time. We can expect a much improved effort.

To give the competition more importance, in a complex new process, qualification for the play-offs will be the equivalent of three league points in their domestic league, rising up to nine points for winning outright.