Regional Welsh clubs are dealt Heineken Cup blow

Murphy's Law, the sporting commandment governing the heaping of additional misery on those already suffering the torments of hell, used to be an Irish phenomenon. Now, it is so exclusively Welsh that it will soon be known as Jones' Law. Barely a month after signing a political armistice with its professional clubs over the creation of five new regional teams designed specifically to drive up standards in the Heineken Cup – and, by extension, at international level – the Welsh Rugby Union has been told that only four will be permitted to play in the tournament from the end of next season.

One of Llanelli, Cardiff, Ebbw Vale-Newport, Bridgend-Pontypridd and Neath-Swansea (the three mergers have yet to be officially christened) will be ordered to play in the second-tier Parker Pen Challenge Cup instead, thereby costing Wales 20 per cent of their representation in the élite competition. It is safe to say that this was not anticipated by the union or the clubs, who fought a bitter committee-room conflict over professional numbers before settling on the five-team structure.

The board of European Rugby Cup Ltd, which administers the Heineken and Parker Pen competitions, have told Wales, Ireland and Scotland that they must field at least one side in the junior tournament from 2004-05 onwards following concerns that regionalisation in Celtic rugby might make a mockery of the competition's credentials as a Continental event. The Irish, who have a maximum of three Heineken Cup places, will not be affected as long as the Connacht province remains a going concern. The Scots, however, do have a problem. Their three-team structure ensures one of Edinburgh, Glasgow and the Borders will be denied Heineken Cup rugby each season.

By shifting to a regional system and removing four teams from the Parker Pen equation, the Welsh left the tournament teetering on the precipice. "They will be lost to the competition completely next season, sadly," said Derek McGrath, the ERC chief executive. "We will have to do some remodelling, perhaps by dropping from 32 teams to 28."

Saracens, who take an eight-point lead to Bath for the second leg of the Parker Pen semi-final on Saturday, are in danger of losing Stuart Hooper, their highly promising young lock, to Leeds. Wayne Shelford, the director of rugby at Vicarage Road, confirmed yesterday that Hooper was planning to move north. Another Saracens tight forward, the international loose-head prop David Flatman, is on his way to Bath.

English rugby is awash with transfer rumour at the moment. Dan Luger, the England wing, is negotiating a possible link-up with Perpignan, the Heineken Cup semi-finalists, who are also attempting to lure two front-line southern hemisphere players to their Catalonian stronghold: Daniel Herbert, the Wallaby centre, and Scott Robertson, the All Black No 8. Meanwhile, Harlequins will announce a raft of new signings, several of them from Ireland, at the end of the season. Michael Worsley, the London Irish prop who won his first cap for England during the Six Nations, has long been linked with a move to the Stoop Memorial Ground.

Bristol are likely to be the heaviest losers, thanks to their financial instability. Garath Archer and Alex Brown, their outstanding locks, are being sought by Newcastle and Gloucester respectively; Agustin Pichot and Felipe Contepomi, the Argentinian Test half-backs, are targets for Leicester; and Phil Christophers, the England wing, is said to be in discussions with Leeds. The exodus is imminent.