History of Newport RFC :: 1874

"With the second half of the rugby season now under way comes a rallying cry from Newport team manager David Watkins, who is looking forward to the future with considerable optimism. So much so that he had this to say when I sought his views: "Naturally we are hoping for better things, and for the first time we have the availability of all and sundry. This means that there will be keen competition for team places. There will be no complacency, and I am confident that there will be light at the end of the tunnel because we have a lot of potential among our players". "

"Meanwhile, Newport will have two vital engagements to fulfil during the next fortnight. Next Saturday they will be at home to Neath in a Heineken League match, during which they will be striving to collect two valuable points to improve their chances of moving up the table."

"That assignment is likely to prove a most exacting one, for although Neath have been overshadowed by Swansea, Cardiff and Llanelli this season, they are still a formidable force. A week after this game Newport will be in the Eastern Valley where they have to meet Pontypool United in the sixth round of the Welsh Cup."

"There was a time when such a clash would not cause Newport to view it with a great deal of trepidation, but things have not been going too well for them lately, due to some extent to the big crop of injuries sustained by key players."

"Pontypool United operate in the lowest division of the Heineken League, but status often counts very little in cup-ties, which are notorious for giant-killing acts. Still, Newport have usually proved doughty cup-fighters, and if their players can keep away from the sick parade during the next fortnight, the selectors should be able to field a combination thoroughly capable of going into the hat for the seventh round draw."

"Last season Newport reached the semi-finals, where they were beaten in extra time by Swansea, the league champions. Pontypool United had their big moment of triumph when they eliminated Tredegar in the fourth round last season, but in the next round they were crushed by Pontypridd, who won 50-6."

"Newport's home match with the South Wales Police, which had to be postponed last Saturday because of a frozen pitch, is likely to be rearranged for a date in March, and might even be played on a Sunday. Newport's away games with Newbridge and Llanelli have been re-arranged for Monday, February 8 and Tuesday, March 9 respectively. Both will kick off at 7.15pm."

"WELCOME OLD FRIENDS, PENARTH . . ."

"Penarth, today's visitors to Rodney Parade, can claim the distinction of being among Newport's earliest opponents. Indeed, they first played Newport during the 1886-7 season, only ten years after Newport had moved their headquarters from Shaftesbury Park (then known as The Marches) to their present ground."

"That fixture was in the first round of the old South Wales Cup, and Newport won by five goals (one dropped) and seven tries to nil. Since then, Newport and Penarth have been staunch friends and have played each other season after season, a custom which is likely to continue if sentiment is the deciding factor in these days of heavy league commitments."

"Penarth, of course, have found the going extremely rough in recent years, for they have had to compete with close neighbours, among them Cardiff, for outstanding players. Nevertheless, club officials have never lost faith, and some day perhaps the Barbarians will return to their fixture list, on which they appeared for very many enjoyable years."

"This season Penarth have started a re-building drive, and towards the end of 1992 they secured a number of useful reinforcements from various clubs, particularly Cardiff, who had previously overloaded themselves with talent. Among the ex-Cardiff players who switched to Penarth were Tim Crothers, a former Cardiff captain and flanker, and his brother Simon Crothers, Mike Thomas, Craig Thomas and Mike Parry."

"Throughout the years Penarth have produced some outstanding players, one of whom was a former Welsh captain and full back, Jack Bassett, who gained 15 caps in the days when international honours really had to be won! Indeed, he just succeeded in pipping Newport's Bill Everson for the full back berth in the Welsh team. Bassett, a Glamorgan County policeman, was one of the most devastating tacklers in British rugby."

"In the 1931 international match between Wales and Ireland he crashed into Jack Arigho, the swift-footed and dashing Irish wing, who had scored two tries against Wales in a previous encounter, with such force that the Irishman was knocked unconscious."

"Bassett captained Wales in 1931 when they won the international championship for the first time since 1922. The previous year he had toured New Zealand with the British Lions, and among his colleagues was Jack Morley, the brilliant Newport wing."

"Penarth may not have produced another Welsh cap for many years, yet among their heroes was the uncapped Bernard Templeman, a crafty little half back who never failed to indulge in some impudent moves against Newport. He was also a dropped goal specialist and in one match against Newport he dropped three goals, a rare feat."