WELSH rugby would go back to the dark ages if the plan by Scotland and Ireland to halve the number of games in two years becomes a reality.

After all the changes, after all the heartache of moving from a club base to five regions in Wales, to go back to square one and have nine or so club teams would be an utter disaster on and off the field.

It took a massive amount of debate and persuasion apart from a huge political debate, which is still going on to a degree thanks to Eddie Butler, for the major change to come in.

But bit by bit the benefits of having fewer teams with more top quality players concentrated in each team are being seen.

The standard of rugby game by game has increased enormously so that they are now of a huge intensity and quality, as again demonstrated by the Newport Gwent Dragons-Ulster cracker.

Welsh teams enjoyed their second best performance in the Heineken Cup this season, much better than last, and in the Celtic League three of the top four teams are from Wales.

The Dragons lead against all the odds, with Celtic Warriors lying third and Llanelli Scarlets one place behind.

Maybe it is the shock of seeing their leading sides like Edinburgh, Munster and Leinster coming off second best so often is discouraging Scotland and Ireland.

More to the point, they have concentrated the majority of their players, a few exiles apart, around two teams - Edinburgh and Glasgow in Scotland and Munster and Leinster in Ireland.

Consequently, they suffer the most when it comes to international calls and are forced to field seriously weakened teams in the Celtic League.

But what about four of the five Welsh regions - the Dragons being the exception - who are also badly affected by Wales and under-21 commitments during the Six Nations? They have overcome those problems, Neath-Swansea Ospreys beating Munster in Limerick last Friday for example.

But as the Scotland and Ireland rugby unions control their players they can dictate what happens, like new Scottish coach Matt Williams intervening to insist Edinburgh play young centre Tom Philip in Toulouse for example.

If they want their players to have more rest periods while the Six Nations and autumn internationals are on, and during their build-up, they can force the issue because of their central contracts system.

Nothing of the sort happens in Wales where benefactors still prop up the game heavily. Regular fixtures are needed both from a rugby point of view and commercially to help sustain it.

To cut the Celtic League to home or away games, thus halving the total number of fixtures, would be an absolute disaster for Welsh rugby. It could even make it unsustainable and throw its whole future back into the melting pot.

Clearly it could not survive on eleven Celtic games, maybe five at home with three more in the Heineken Cup. Players wages couldn't be met and support plus commercial backing would be worse than it is now if there are long periods of inactivity.

And now that the regions are in place and steadily improving, a mass of clubs spreading the talent thinly again cannot return.

As it is I find it ridiculous to call clubs like Cardiff and Llanelli by those names in the premier division and cup competition.

How can they possibly be called by those historic names when on one day they supply 22 players to the region, half-a-dozenforWales, four or five to the under 21s with another few injured, making about 35 players unavailable.

Call it a Cardiff XV ora Llanelli Development XV perhaps, and the same goes for Newport, Swansea, Bridgend and Pontypridd to a degree, but obviously it's not the real thing, it can't be.

And now for Mr Butler and his increasingly inflammatory remarks about regional rugby needing to be taken from Newport until their fans embrace it fully.

It's the chicken and egg situation as I was privy to the abuse hurled at him at Rodney Parade on Saturday which explained his outburst on Scrum V the next day. And so it will go on unless fans realise he delights winding them up. Ignore him is the best policy.

Eddie is a bright bloke, he's got a Cambridge University degree, he speaks several languages fluently, he writes in a national newspaper and he broadcasts on television apart from doing a bit of ghostwriting for the likes of Austin Healey.

As such, Eddie must realise that only Rodney Parade is capable of holding regional rugby on a regular basis, he must be aware that the Welsh game still needs benefactors if it is to survive.

He knows that teams with wealthy backers and business expertise run the sides out of one base for good reason - Tony Brown with the Dragons, Peter Thomas with the Blues and Leighton Samuel with the Warriors playing our of Newport, Cardiff and Bridgend, respectively.

Being the bright bloke he is, I'm sure he is aware that coach Mike Ruddock has embraced the regional concept better than anyone with his Academy system and close relationship and consultation with the clubs.

I would be the last to suggest that Eddie can't see the wood for the trees, that he's lost the plot or that he is ensuring the problems that had largely gone away in Gwent simply continue by his outbursts.

Everyone ought to rise above the petty politics now and just get on with it. That includes Eddie Butler and it means the fans as well.

The unsung Dragons have done a great job, top of the table and shocking everyone. Team spirit as much as anything has done it, a group of players who are close with a coach who knows what he's doing and a growing band of followers. The adventure continues this week with two early morning flights to Glasgow and back in time for the Wales-France game on Sunday then on to Limerick for the Munster - Dragons match next week.

Exciting times, whatever Eddie Butler says to try to put a spoke in.