The announcement that the new Celtic League will begin in August has been warmly welcomed by coaches who forsee it improving the standard of the rugby played.

Wales coach Graham henry was more than pleased with the decision. He told the Western Mail, "I am delighted. I think it is a step in the right direction. It is a better competition than we have got. Our players will be up against Irish sides. We know how good teams like Munster are so there will be a harder edge. Standards and consistency will have to improve.

"The more variety we have the better off we will be. This league will broaden our minds and the importance of winning away. We have got a bit of a phobia about that."

Both Glasgow Caledonians coach Richie Dixon and Frank Hadden of Edinburgh Reivers were also glad with the outcome. Hadden told The Scotsman newspaper, "I'm very excited by the decision. From our point of view the standard will just go up again. The level of rugby our professional players have been involved in has risen every year and we will have to improve yet again to try and meet the challenge."

Dixon also told the paper, "It's great news for us. I was delighted when the SRU and the WRU had the nerve to go outside their borders and create the Welsh-Scottish League, and I applaud them and the IRFU for going further.

"It was very important that we got some competition like this, because we now have a platform to which young players can aspire, knowing that there is a solid, professional regime for players to be part of."

The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) cleared the way for the proposed Celtic League last night after reaching a compromise over the inclusion of a ninth Welsh club.

Original plans were for a 14-team league in two pools of seven, consisting of eight Welsh teams, four Irish districts and two Scottish districts. But the Welsh, Scottish and Irish unions on Monday evening issued a joint statement announcing the introduction of a 15-team league, starting in August and featuring nine Welsh teams.

The WRU's support for the league, which will run for an initial period of three years, paves the way for commercial deals to be finalised and a TV deal announcement, expected to be with the BBC, is expected soon, along with a major sponsor.

The nine Welsh clubs are likely to be Swansea, Newport, Cardiff, Llanelli, Bridgend, Neath, Pontypridd, Caerphilly and Ebbw Vale.

Cross Keys are currently six points adrift of Ebbw Vale in the Welsh/Scottish League Premier Division with seven games remaining and are therefore favourites to miss out on the new league and be relegated to the First Division.

Scottish Super Districts Glasgow Caledonians and Edinburgh Reivers, will join Irish provinces Munster, Ulster, Leinster and Connacht in the league's line-up.