Heightened tensions across Europe provide the backdrop to world rugby's best annual tournament and it has never been more important for the Scots to make a significant contribution.

To say it would be belated for them to do so would represent an undestatement comparable to suggesting it would be nice if Greek politicians would take a bit more responsibility for themselves and stop relying on the Germans.

Sixteen years of abject failure in the Heineken Cup – Edinburgh's run to the semi-finals last season notwithstanding – mean it will not be at the negotiating table that the Scots make their presence felt.

Scotland are represented by the formidable Ian "Mighty Mouse" McLauchlan, along with Mark Dodson, Murrayfield's chief executive, at those discussions over the way forward for European competition, but our rugby players, broadcasters and businesses have combined down the years to ensure their voices are all too easily ignored.

Seen in the round, even Italy, the one nation who have been even less successful on the field than Scotland in Heineken Cup history, are more entitled to be heard.

The Italians may appear to have emulated Scotland when setting up two new provincial teams to enter the RaboDirect Pro12, thereby granting them automatic entry to the Heineken Cup. Yet by axing Aironi after just two years to make way for the new Zebre team, they have shown commendable readiness to demand competitive and commercial accountability of their franchises, as also reflected in proper domestic competition for rugby broadcasting rights allied to corporate support.

Even if that were not already the case, English, French, Irish and Welsh administators would be foolish to ignore the potential represented by a country of Italy's size who have come relatively late to top-level rugby but, like Argentina in the Southern Hemisphere, have proved their capacity to ensure that elite rugby grows.

By contrast, Scotland have shown Europe's big four what they have to fear from a failure to progress; decades of complacency by broadcasters and corporate backers, as well as rugby administrators, having led to  a disturbing state of decay.

So, while the Irish, in particular, and, to a lesser but still significant extent, the Welsh, have repeatedly demonstrated the lameness of the arguments from England and France about the superiority of their old-style fixation with negative, relegation-driven league competition, the Scottish teams have given them something to cling to. That has been caused by a level of under-investment that was well-described this week by Ian Rankin, head coach of Dundee HSFP, when he noted that the Cornish Pirates, who have never reached England's Aviva Premiership, boasted a bigger budget than Edinburgh until the new injection of cash made available to the Scottish teams in the last six months.

Rankin, who led Caledonia Reds as Scottish rugby made its first foray into the Heineken Cup in 1996, subsequently coached Edinburgh Reivers and managed Edinburgh, while simultaneously coaching the Scotland A team before, more recently, coaching and managing Scotland's Club International team, was saying so in the context of Dundee having to face the side from England's Championship team in the British & Irish Cup next week.

He was, it should be added, expressing relish rather than fear at the prospect, but his observations offered perspective on what Scottish rugby stalwarts such as himself, Richie Dixon, Frank Hadden, Rob Moffat, Hugh Campbell and, most recently, Sean Lineen, among many who have been used and abused by successive Murrayfield regimes, have had to deal with.

Now, though, the investment is there and those entrusted with it have a job to do on behalf of, not only Scottish rugby but the wider Celtic cause, as the English and French seek to put the squeeze on their representation in European competition.

After close to a decade of unprecedented Celtic domination of the European game, hawks in England's Premiership in particular, backed by, among others, those I describe as the "Uncle Tom" element of Celts working in the English media who ingratiate themselves with their paymasters by running their countrymen down, have seen their chance.

Ireland's dominance – they have won five of the last seven Heineken Cups – is under threat by the ageing of their golden generation, while Welsh financial troubles make it unlikely that their provinces can build immediately upon a fourth Celtic Six Nations Championship grand slam in the past eight years.

The Scottish teams alone among the Celts have received the sort of cash injection that should mean they can contribute much more than before and there is no excuse for failing to do so.

Edinburgh winning a pool for the first time, before reaching a first semi-final, and Glasgow Warriors' second-place finish in a Heineken Cup pool – also a first – allied to their second appearance in the Celtic league play-offs in three seasons, were astonishing achievements by under-resourced teams last season.

The reward for fine campaigns in which both overcame the odds has been previously unimagined levels of support from Murrayfield. With it comes greater responsibility and Michael Bradley's Edinburgh and Gregor Townsend's Glasgow Warriors owe it to Celtic rugby as much as their owners, to show that Scotland has something useful to contribute in the battle for European rugby's long-term future.