From the match programme:-
"London Welsh, as is customary, provide the holiday attraction at Newport to-day. The "Exiles" usually play extremely well on the Athletic Grounds. As recently as 1947, Easter Monday, they thoroughly defeated Newport by 16 points to 8, while their record and present season performances certainly indicate their hopes to repeat this achievement. The Welsh are considered as one of the best sides playing Rugby in London at present. They have home and away victories recorded against Llanelly, while the only London and English club, apart from London Scottish, to beat them this season, has been Rosslyn Park. Prominent in their back division, and whom it is hoped will be included in to-day's London Welsh side, are Gerwyn Williams at full-back, W. Owen Jones and a clever outside half indeed in V. J. G. Harrison. Of the forwards, C. D. Williams, the Oxford Blue and Welsh trial player, J. Holland, A. Edmunds and D. W. Jones merit particular attention."
"A point of great interest about to-day's game is that both teams have agreed to observe the "Gentlemen's Agreement" in the scrummages, whereby the wing forwards remain down until the ball is actually clear of the scrum. This "agreement " has been tried often in the past, and to such good effect that it is difficult to know why it has never been transformed into a definite rule of the game. Now, the threat of Rugby League in Wales has prompted a renewal of the experiment by several Welsh clubs during the past weeks, and invariably with reported signal success. If Rugby football has, over the last 20 years, deteriorated as a spectacle, much of the blame can be attributed to the progressive defensive tactics of wing forwards playing just within, or just outside, the present laws of the game. Rugby League threat or no, if experiment continues to prove that the presently known "Gentleman's Agreement" is for the betterment of the game, then it must become law. Our supporters will again be the judges of this after to-day's game."
"Pardon must be asked if the side Newport field to-day does not compare with the team printed in this programme. Newport have so many injured players that it is difficult indeed to decide in advance the correct composition of to-day's side, and it will be appreciated that these programmes must go to press prior to the holidays. It will be possible to be much more accurate in publishing Newport's team for to-morrow's game against the Barbarians."