"EDITORIAL ... by Roger Panting"
"On Saturday, in near perfect conditions, Newport and Spain produced one of the worst games ever to be seen at Rodney Parade. On Tuesday evening Rugby Canada and the hosts provided excellent entertainment in desperately difficult circumstances. The participants overcame the teeming rain, heavy pitch and slippery ball to serve up plenty of open rugby with nine tries and for the home supporters an added bonus of Newport turning around an eighteen deficit to achieve a well deserved twelve-point victory."
"Newport were caught cold from the kick-off and Canadian wing Courtney Smith was over within 30 seconds of the start. The ball handling skills of the Canadians in the first half saw them build up an 18-0 lead and at that stage there seemed little likelihood of a home victory. The home pack were strangely subdued, the ball was being frequently spilled and Shaun Connor was not having a particularly enjoyable time of it with his restart kicks causing considerable concern. On the stroke of half-time a Mark Workman try converted by Connor gave Newport hope and on the restart the Canadians were shell-shocked by a re-vitalised Newport, with Connor having a rapid change of fortune. In the second half he scored two individual tries, the second after running 45 yards when reading and intercepting a stray pass from the Canadians, he made the final try for Matthew Robinson and kicked another three goals for a match tally of 18 points. Rugby Canada hardly got a look in in the second half and were confined to a further penalty from outside half John Graf and an injury time consolation try by the same player. The Canadians easily came off second best in the set scrums and Rod Snow and Gareth Rowlands, Newport's resident Canadians, impressed against their compatriots. Prop Sven Cronk again shone and in view of his recent performances must be considered unlucky in not being selected to join Ian Gough in the Welsh National squad. There was also a welcome return for Wales A No. 8 Mark Workman after injury and there was a rare sighting of Jake Lowry."
"Meanwhile, the Challenge Trophy continues on its downward slide to oblivion. Of the 13 games played to date the Overseas Visitors have yet to pick up a victory and have merely managed two draws. The Northern Bulls from Transvaal seem to be the only invited side likely to test the Welsh opposition as they earned a 34-34 draw against championship leaders Swansea at St, Helens on Wednesday evening and their game at Pontypridd tonight - 6.00pm live on S4C - will make interesting viewing before they move on to Stradey Park to play LLanelli on Wednesday evening."
"To date the Challenge Trophy has been a dismal failure and one can only hope for improved performances from the Overseas sides this weekend to provide a much needed boost to the Tournament. The W.R.U. indicated that they had initiated this competition to provide a much needed boost to a gap in the fixture list. The competition, if it runs its course, will use up a total of six Saturdays but for the life of me I can't understand why the W.R.U. chose to start their season on 16th August and schedule it to finish on 16th May. In the good old days the season ran from 1st September until 30th April and when players are complaining about the increased workload surely it would make common sense to have disregarded the concept of a Challenge Trophy and merely have inserted the League games on those six Saturdays so the season would have resorted to September to April. In England the season started a week later than in Wales and English clubs had to complete a 22-match league programme, yet Wales have only a 14-match programme and require a longer season. The W.R.U.'s planning leaves a lot to be desired as a number of supporters and players might just consider that mid-August Saturdays should be reserved for resting on beaches rather than being engaged in rugby activities."
"Today Newport welcome Rosario from Argentina, who have been on the receiving end of two heavy defeats in the Challenge Trophy - 51-31 at Swansea and 53-16 at Cardiff. At Swansea outside half Leandaro Bouza looked a polished performer and their backs full of enterprise, but their pack struggled up front and may face a difficult task today against the highly regarded Newport scrummage."