£500,000
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MARK ORDERS
MARK.ORDERS@SWWP.CO.UK
10:00 - 21 June 2005
The deal to save the Celtic League will cost Wales around £500,000 a season. That is the compensation bill which will be paid to Ireland and Scotland for the fixture disruption caused by the Scarlets, Ospreys, Dragons and Blues playing in the new Anglo-Welsh cup.
The cost will be met equally by the regions and the Welsh Rugby Union.
Each region will be expected to hand over close on £60,000 a term, with the WRU matching the total amount with an annual payment of around £250,000.
''It took a long time to nail down an agreement covering everything, but we are quite happy with the end result,'' said a source in Ireland.
The Welsh regions will consider the outlay a small price to pay for the chance to face the English in head-to-head combat.
The Anglo-Welsh is expected prove a hit with fans, meaning a £60,000 price tag could be wiped out with one reasonable-sized gate against the likes of Leicester, Bath, Wasps or Newcastle.
And the money will effectively be channelled back, anyway.
With Wales contributing most to the Celtic League through TV revenue, the Irish and the Scots have agreed to pay their compensation cash into the collective pot.
Other details of the peace package have also emerged.
Irish and Scottish teams have refused to play on international weekends, so Welsh teams will have to play then or in midweek to accommodate the Anglo-Welsh cup.
The league's future has been guaranteed for four years, with a provision for the possible inclusion of Italian sides during that period.
A fixture list has yet to be finalised, but it has been agreed that all teams will start and finish the season on the same date.
The number of midweek games Welsh sides are required to play will depend on their success in the Heineken Cup and the Anglo-Welsh.
Wales's regions were kicked out of the Celtic League after negotiating to play England's leading sides in the Anglo-Welsh cup. The Irish and the Scots said the Welsh had ripped the heart out of the league by demanding five clear weekends to face the English.
The regions were re-admitted after an eight-hour meeting in London.
Welsh pay their dues!
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