"RODNEY COMMENTARY"
"SHAUN'S GOOD NEWS FOR NEWPORT. . ."
"Among the Newport players who, happily, have recently been struck off the casualty list is Scottish centre Shaun McGauchie, and he has lost no time in making his presence felt. The good news for the club is that McGauchie is hoping to remain in this part of the country when he finishes his studies at Cardiff Institute in July."
"McGauchie, who comes from Dumfrieshire, had previously played for Selkirk, the Scottish first division club, for four seasons, and he is highly regarded by the Scottish selectors. They picked him for the Scotland B team who played Ireland B and also for the Anglo-Scots who took part in their recent divisional trial."
"Yet McGauchie is a soccer convert to rugby. He was capped by Scotland in senior schoolboy soccer internationals and he also played for the Scottish league club, Queen of the South. Bolton Wanderers also took a keen interest in him, but after spending some time with the Lancashire club he returned to Scotland."
"It will be interesting to see whether McGauchie will continue to attract the attention of the Scottish selectors next season. They have often looked to South Wales clubs for talent, so McGauchie may succeed in putting himself in line for a full cap. Incidentally, his arrival at Rodney Parade brought to mind some of the other well-known Scottish players who have turned out for Newport throughout the years."
"The most famous of these, of course, was Neil MacPherson, a second row forward, who gained senior international honours direct from Newport. He played for Scotland seven times, and in one of those matches he helped the Scots to defeat Wales 9-5 at Inverleigh. In that match Wales were captained by one of MacPherson's club colleagues, Harry Uzzell."
"Two decades later Hamish Bryce was a travelling reserve for all Scotland's matches, and in one of them he went on as a replacement and so gained a cap. Bryce was a captain in the Royal Engineers, and had a spell with Newport while serving in the neighbourhood."
"Another prominent Scot who wore the black and amber jersey was Bill Ewan, who joined Newport from the Watsonians after he had taken up an appointment in the town. He played under the captaincy of Ken Jones and proved to be a strong running centre who did not neglect his wing!"
"Long before all these players appeared on the scene, Newport had the services of another Scottish international. He was Roy McGregor, who had been capped for Scotland against Ireland when he was studying at Edinburgh University. McGregor, a doctor, had taken up an appointment at the Royal Gwent Hospital, and he played 25 times for Newport at centre and half back in the days of Reg Edwards and Reg Plummer."
"W.H."
"TODAY'S VISITORS"
"WELCOME, THE WELSH ALL BLACKS"
"Although they have suffered some unexpected setbacks in the Heineken League this season, Neath rugby team are still a considerable force to be reckoned with. In fact, Newport, who were defeated 18-7 at The Gnoll back in December, are expecting another tough struggle with the Welsh All Blacks."
"For Neath can place in the field an assembly of experienced, determined and talented players, many of whom have played for Wales during the past two or three seasons. Neath, indeed, supplied Wales with seven players for last season's matches with England, Ireland and France and six against Scotland. Two of them, Gareth Llewellyn and Martyn Morris, were also in the Welsh team who played against England at Twickenham this season. The former also played against Scotland a week ago."
"Still going strong for Neath is that ace kicker Paul Thorburn, the former Welsh captain, who retired from international rugby last season. He scored some spectacular goals for Wales with his amazingly accurate and lengthy kicking from all angles. Thorburn still holds the Neath points scoring record with a total of 438 amassed in 1984-5."
"Thorburn, with 37 caps to his credit, is one of the very many outstanding players in Welsh rugby's hall of fame, and he has taken his place among such giants as Rees Stephens, Roy John, Dai Morris, Tom Arthur, Brian Thomas and Arthur Lemon, to mention just a few."
"Today Neath's squad includes, besides Thorburn, Gareth Llewellyn and Martyn Morris, such players as Kevin Phillips, Colin Laity and Glyn Llewellyn. Like Rupert Moon, Neath's former scrum half now with Llanelli, Laity is a pure blooded Englishman from Cornwall. He has made a big impact in Welsh club rugby and has also played for Wales against France in a B international, after which he was selected for the Welsh senior squad."
"W.H"