First published on Thursday 16 August 2001:

SCOTLAND coach Ian McGeechan believes that the introduction of the Celtic League can help bridge the gap between England and the rest of Britain.

Clive Woodward's side have swept all before them in recent seasons to leave the Irish, Scottish and Welsh trailing in their wake.

But McGeechan insists the inception of the new league involving professional teams from the three celtic countries - including Newport and Ebbw Vale - will help provide the experience required to challenge England's supremacy and numerical strength.

"England have always got the numbers and that is the biggest weakness for Ireland, Scotland and Wales," said McGeechan.

"The only way we could address it is by coming together now and then we start to match up a bit more. It starts to make far more sense.

"The structure of the season isn't right just yet. We have now started to get the competitions for the teams and now we have to organise the structure of the season so that we get the real benefit from it.

"If anybody has any thoughts about where we want to be, I think a progression can already be seen by way of the season now getting better with higher quality games. "We have got the competitions right and all we have to look at is the organisation of how they are presented. Then, suddenly, we are not far off.

"The better the competition, the better background there is for your players when they are coming into an international environment."

McGeechan also believes that the fresh challenge of facing Irish teams Connacht, Leinster, Munster and Ulster will benefit his young players of the future.

"From a competition point of view, this is a massive step forward for us," said McGeechan. "There is a natural link for the celtic countries. It is not the finished product just yet but it is a massive step forward in how we are approaching our game now.

"With the introduction of the third pro team and the professionalisation of what we are doing, we are now on a different level."