Following a meeting of the Celtic League board in Dublin yesterday, it was confirmed that next season's Celtic League would be structured in such a way as to ensure that none of the League's 22 weekends would clash with either autumn internationals or RBS 6 nation international weekends.

It was also confirmed that all three Celtic nations had agreed to sign a new 3 year Celtic Accord confirming their support for their cross border competition for a further three seasons and until at least May 2008.

All three Celtic nations also agreed that they would uniformly use the finishing positions of their respective teams in the Celtic League tournament as their Heineken Cup qualification vehicle.

The three Unions also discussed and agreed various measures to address player welfare issues by controlling the number of fixtures players play. The unconditional support for the League tournament as the means of qualification for the Heineken Cup and the Unions commitment to player welfare will mean the withdrawal of the end of season Celtic Cup play-offs after this season's final on 14 May.

The Celtic League season will kick off on the weekend of September 3rd 2005 and will end on the last weekend of May 2006.

Details of fixtures and dates will be released early next month.