By Lestyn
June 24 2004

BREAKING NEWS: Cardiff Blues have been confirmed as Wales's fourth representative side in next seasons Heineken cup.

European chiefs today announced that Wales would maintain it's four spots in the Heineken cup, though significantly only for one more season, with one Welsh region being entered into the Parker Pen from 2005/6 onwards.

Naturally the Blues are hardly going to turn such an inviatation into Europes premier club tournament down.

"We would have preferred for our participation to have been based purely on merit, but it does ensure that the Blues' players will be able to continue to compete with the elite teams,"

Blues chief executive Robert Norster said. ERC chairman Jean-Pierre Lux believes that the regions inclusion will enhance the competition; "The changes that have taken place in the professional game in Wales over the past 18 months have impacted on our tournaments and forced us to reassess the means of qualifying for the Heineken Cup," Lux said.

"The Heineken Cup is the flagship of the professional club game in the northern hemisphere and we want it to remain as competitive in the future as it has been in the previous nine years. "We feel the system for qualification we have devised for the future is fair to every nation and also gives an extra incentive to teams in the Celtic League and the Italian Championship."

The make-up of the 24 teams for the 2004/2005 competition will be as follows:

ENGLAND – 7 teams (London Wasps, Bath Rugby, Northampton Saints, NEC Harlequins, Newcastle Falcons, Gloucester, Leicester Tigers)

FRANCE - 6 teams (Perpigan / Stade Français Paris, Castres Olympique, Toulouse, Bourgoin, Biarritz Olympique)

WALES – 4 teams (Llanelli Scarlets, Newport Gwent Dragons, Neath-Swansea Ospreys, Cardiff Blues) IRELAND –

3 teams (Munster, Leinster, Ulster) SCOTLAND – 2 teams (Edinburgh Rugby, Glasgow Rugby)

ITALY – 2 teams (Benetton Treviso, Rugby Calvisano)