Welsh benefit from Borders' absence as fixtures revealed

THE net effect of Scotland's decision to shut down the Borders has been to play straight into the hands of the Welsh regions who dominated the Magners League last season.

This became obvious when league fixtures were published yesterday, revealing that the Welsh Rugby Union has blocked moves to use the extra free weekends for a championship play-off and will instead use them to reschedule matches to ease their path through the money-spinning Anglo-Welsh Cup.

The Scottish and Irish sides, who do not kick off their season until the third weekend, 21/22/23 September, will face a triple whammy: facing Welsh clubs already match hardened after playing two rounds of ultra-competitive derby matches before tackling the cross-border challenge; the Welsh having built up points in the league before their rivals have kicked a ball; and the Welsh being able to reap the financial rewards of playing English clubs without paying any penalty in the form of needing to play midweek games.

Nevertheless, there is at least one positive in the schedule with Edinburgh being confirmed as one of the two Scottish sides in the tournament, ending the fears and speculation that the club might be prevented from playing next season because of its ongoing row with the Scottish Rugby Union.

Certainly for Lynn Howells, the Edinburgh coach, it was enjoyable to start getting excited by the prospect of tackling Leinster, Ulster and the Ospreys in the opening three weeks instead of being depressed by the fallout from the club's dispute with the union.

"It makes a nice change to be able to leave out all the politics and concentrate on the rugby, which is what really matters," he said. "We have been training well. We have built a squad to cope with having all the players away at the World Cup and to make sure that those players are properly rested when they come back before we have to press them into action. All the games will be tough but I am really excited by it all."

His team's start to the season, with a run of three consecutive home games in competition with the World Cup, will prove important, but is small fry compared with Glasgow who have five on the trot at Firhill after opening with away games at the Cardiff and the Ospreys.

The season starts on the weekend of 31 August/1/2 September with two rounds of Welsh derby matches and runs to 10 May. The play-off plan may be resurrected for non-World Cup years.

Edinburgh host Glasgow in the first Scottish derby at Murrayfield on the weekend of 28/29/30 December, with the return at Firhill on 11/12/13 April.