Lions head coach Ian McGeechan says Scottish rugby must become more unified if it is to reach its peak.
McGeechan, who led the Lions to South Africa this summer on what was his fifth tour as a coach and his seventh overall, fears that his native Scotland will fall further behind the other Celtic nations unless they revamp their current system.
Scotland currently lie 10th in the IRB World Rankings and have recorded just one win in each of the last three Six Nations.
And with limited playing numbers across the country, Lions legend McGeechan knows that Scotland must make the most of those players with the talent to succeed if they are to improve their fortunes on the international stage.
“The key in Scotland is not to miss any talent, because we have so few players,” said McGeechan, who has previously worked as both coach and director of rugby with the Scottish national team.
“If it was purely a rugby argument you would say Scottish rugby has to have at least three professional teams, maybe four, but you can never divorce that necessity from the financial arguments, unfortunately.
“But, where Ireland and Wales are moving on, and moving ahead of us, is the ability of the whole country there to work with each other to ensure the kid who has talent as a schoolboy works through the system as an amateur to a club, to an academy, with everybody helping.”
