Interesting reminder of off-side laws, as they stood at the time, from the match programme:-
"A THOUGHT FOR THE LAWS"
"We are glad to welcome Newport to Coundon Road today. Meetings between the two clubs invariably produced keen matches and good football in the past. There is every reason to anticipate that today's game will be in keeping with that tradition."
"Bedford certainly gave us a shock last week by winning a game that they seemed already to be well on the way to losing. It may be trite but it is still true that a game is not lost until it is won, and it isn't won until the game is over. "
"Some discussion was causod by the second of the three tries Bedford scored in the devastating four minutes in second half that changed the course of victory. The point was whether if the ball had been knocked forward by Haynes and touched down by Joy instead of slithering from under Haynes's hands a try could have been awarded. The answer is "lNo." If a player knocks-on in his opponents' in-goal, the defending side must be awarded a drop-out."
"Cries of "off-side" have become somewhat more persistent in recent weeks and sometimes spectators have been surprised because the referee has not taken the same view. If spectators recalled the off-side and on-side laws, however, they would realise that often the referee was right and they were wrong."
"Admittedly it is one of the most difficult laws of the game. One point it is helpful to remember is that a man is not off-side because he is in front of the ball but is off-side when he is in front of the man of his own side who last played the ball. Other points it is helpfull to remember are that although an off-side player must not go nearer an opponent waiting for the ball than 10 yards, he is on-side when an opponent has played - as distinct from gathering - the ball, has kicked it, or has run five yards with it."
"Although the first team will not be at home again until Guy's Hospital visit us on Feb. 7th., the Extra First have home games next week with Old Veseyans and the following week with Old Aylestonians."