Glynn Davidge came back in early December and some fine rugby was played with wins against Cardiff, Wasps and Aberavon and then within 2 days Newport beat successive leaders of the Welsh unofficial championship table Bridgend 22 v 8 and Ebbw Vale 19 v 3.
Newport ended the season with 8 consecutive wins including the Barbarians.
Several youngsters had been blooded and some new players appeared including fullback and Welsh trialist, Ray Cheney from Pontypool. Many players had gone through bad patches but the future was starting to look bright again. The forwards also developed into a powerful unit. Flanker Alan Thomas and outside half David Watkins were selected for Wales U23 vs Canada and Ian Ford at the age of 33 became the first Newport player to complete 400 appearances. Flanker John Anderson recovered from his broken leg to set a forward try scoring record of 15 but sadly for Newport decided to turn professional with Huddersfield Rugby League .
Players who showed promise for the future included backs Dick Uzzell and Andy Morgan and forwards David Jones, John Mantle, Brian Perrins and David Husband. Fullback Barry Edwards led the points scoring on 62pts while leading try scorers were wing Byron Thomas and flanker John Anderson on 15. Scrum half Bob Prosser and hooker Graham Bevan made most appearances with 40 out of a possible 41.