1905-06 saw E. Wyatt Gould (brother of the famous Arthur) elected as captain. Another disappointing season followed. They ran New Zealand close (3 v 6) but managed to lose to Penarth (3 v 11). They scored 8 tries vs Blackheath but lost 2 tries to 0 against Pontypool. 4 of the 12 defeats were suffered against the old enemy Cardiff while Swansea inflicted 2 defeats.

Newport were splendidly served at fullback by D. J. Boots and at forward by Charlie Pritchard, J. Hodges, Beddoe Thomas and George Boots with new forwards William Dowell and Ernie Jenkins showing great ability. Tommy Vile, D. Prothero, Walter Martin and W. Harvey appeared at half with ex-Pill player Harvey being one of the best although somewhat inconsistent.

18 three-quarters were used with Reg Plummer making his first appearance. Wyatt Gould only played 5 matches and Charlie Pritchard took on the captaincy. George Boots (28), William Dowell (28) and Charlie Pritchard (27) made most appearances with W. R. Thomas scoring 15t, Walter Martin 8t and D. Prothero 7t /1dg.

The summer saw evidence of the growing status of Newport Athletic Club when in June it staged the World Group Quarterfinals of the tennis Davis Cup between Australasia and USA, USA winning 3 v 2. Taking part was Anthony "Tony" Frederick Wilding who became the co-World No. 1 in 1911 and 1912 and the World No. 1 player in 1913. Pete Sampras was the first person to break his record across multiple Wimbledon wins in doubles, singles and mixed doubles.

Between 1907 and 1909 he helped the Australasian team win the Davis Cup, and he won his second Australian Open in 1909,he then won the Wimbledon singles title for four straight years between 1910 and 1913. In addition, he won four doubles titles at Wimbledon. In 1914, he returned to Davis Cup play, leading the Australasian team to another championship and won a unique triple in 1913. Wilding was the winner of Wimbledon (the official World Grass Court Championship), the World Hard Court Championship (the official World Clay Court Championship) & the World Covered Court Championship (the official Indoor Court World Championship). Sadly he was killed in action in France during World War I in France.