"THE REAL BUSINESS STARTS HERE"
"Friendly games are great! We get to see some new players wearing the famous black and amber and we play teams that we wouldn't normally play. But there's nothing to match the excitement of a game where both teams are desperate to win, where both teams are looking to secure vital league points."
"I was tempted to say that Carmarthen are an 'unknown' but that wouldn't be true. We know that they won Division One West by a huge margin to gain promotion to the Principality Premier League and we also know that they have recruited some fine players. Today's game will be tough and the result will probably give us an indication of how our season will turn out. Having mentioned pre-season friendly games, I believe that the games against Moseley RFC and Plymouth Albion RFC were very useful to our team's preparation. Both teams have a big pack of forwards and tend to use their big men to drive up the middle of the park. Our coaching team were pleased with the way we handled this and very pleased with the way our backs cut the defensive line several times in each game. Perhaps we can look forward to The British & Irish Cup with a bit of optimism. We were delighted to see so many Newport supporters at the game in Plymouth. The boys have asked me to pass on their thanks for the vocal support during the game and also for your 'support' in the clubhouse after the game!!!"
"Today's game sees some key players missing through injury and a couple of players getting their first taste of league action in a Newport shirt but the whole squad has worked really hard in pre-season training and let's hope that that hard work is rewarded with a win today."
"Dennis Bennet"