The state of the Rodney Parade pitch – Newport County played there last weekend and on Tuesday night and have a cup semi-final next Wednesday night following the Dragons home clash with Benetton Rugby this weekend – has meant they won’t be able to build on recent home wins over Swansea and Ebbw Vale.
With both those clubs being below them in the table they were vital wins and the Black & Ambers have moved up into mid-table this years with four wins in five games. They were able to put further distance between themselves and the relegation zone as they beat Swansea 17-0 at Rodney Parade in their last outing.
They are now 15 points clear of bottom-of-the-table Bridgend with two games in hand, while Swansea are seven off the bottom. They still have three games in hand on the Ravens.
“We controlled the first half and really should have been 25 or 30 points up. That gave Swansea an opportunity after the interval and the third quarter,” said Newport head coach, Ty Morris.
“I was pleased with the last quarter of the match though as we got back in control. I’m not happy with the performance, particularly missing out on a bonus point, but we now need to build momentum following the win.”
A miserable night for the All Whites started when they conceded a mistake at the kick-off and then gifted home marksman Matt O’Brien a simple three points with a collapsed scrum. The home side grabbed the game’s first try when Jon Morris popped up in midfield to power past a tackler to score at the posts.
O’Brien added the extras and Newport continued to swarm over the Swansea defence and it could have got even worse for the visitors had Andrew Mann not dropped the ball over the try line.
Swansea lost prop Greg Cunniffe to a yellow card and it took 40 minutes before they crossed into the Newport 22. The tide quickly turned, though, when Elliot Frewen nipped in to intercept and race 60 metres to score in the corner that O’Brien again improved.
