Monday 20 October 2025 15:52
Lutterworth became the 127th different club to face Newport in a league fixture and they earned a deserved victory on their first ever visit to Forton Road, a result that sees just five points separating the top six teams and Newport losing top spot to lie second behind Stourbridge.
Newport weren’t helped by the unavailability of skipper Ricky Bailey and the absence through injury of a trio of major ball carriers in George Perkins, Uluaki Kale and Will Galbraith. Nevertheless, they had enough chances to have won this game but their execution and penetration wasn’t quite up to the levels shown in the previous few weeks.
Timoci Waqadau came in for Bailey whilst a re-jigged back row saw Fin Barnes, John Tuia and Chris Taylor at 6, 7 and 8 respectively. The home bench had a rather unfamiliar look to it with Tom Pick and Callum Cload included for the first time and Sam Gibson providing front row cover.
Conditions were unfamiliar at The Old Showground with the wind blowing up the slope rather than down it. Newport were given the benefit of the slope first up and when Billy Dinning was taken out in the air from Port’s kick-off, Benny Elliot put the resultant penalty into the visitor’s twenty-two but the throw was crooked meaning they would waste the very earliest of opportunities.
Almost immediately Mike Adams was held short as was Tom Clarke before some unnecessary advice offered to referee Michael Hurdley was rightly punished allowing Lutterworth to clear the danger. A chip through that forced Newport to concede a goal-line drop-out was the first real chance for the visitors and when they attacked from the resultant kick Clarke did extremely well to win a turnover penalty allowing Elliot to clear.
The home side were looking menacing but unable to penetrate a well-organised and robust Lutterworth defence. The visitors were looking rather more clinical with ball-in-hand than their hosts and some clever play, coupled with some weak midfield defence, allowed Justin Trombus the Lutterworth full back and player of the match by a country mile, to burst through and score from forty-metres out. An alert Jack Ingram was sharp enough to race out and charge down what should have been a simple conversion to limit the damage to just the five points after fourteen minutes.
Dinning then chipped through on the counter with Ingram just failing to gather it after a cruel bounce. Tuia then took a great line out and charged through to get Newport in behind the Lutterworth defence. Whilst still on the front foot Elliot Dolphin managed to slice through and feed Waqadau to dot down under the posts, Elliot’s conversion making it 7 – 5 at the conclusion of the first quarter.
With twenty-five gone Newport strayed offside as the visitor’s attacked with Lutterworth opting to take the easy three points on offer to regain the narrowest of leads at 7 – 8.
It was then Lutterworth’s turn to advise Mr Hurdley where he was going wrong and Elliot struck a fine penalty from forty metres and into the wind that just made the distance to put the hosts back in front at 10 – 8. There was one last chance for Newport when Barnes hit a great line and made good yards before chipping through in Charlie Gamble’s direction but Lutterworth tidied up and cleared before winning a turnover penalty to end a well-contested half.
The first fifteen minutes of the second period were to prove Newport’s undoing as they conceded a quickfire twenty-one points without reply, all done before the luncheon guests had downed their half-time cheese and biscuits!
They refused an easy three points in front of the Newport posts and with a quick tap and go drove over with minimum fuss or interference from the home defence. Missing kicks to touch and being too soft in the tackle added to their problems and when Lutterworth put a penalty into the corner after Ingram found himself isolated after sniping round the base, the visitors executed a well-drilled catch and drive try and tacked on the conversion.
Time for wholesale changes, Pick replaces Tuia, Gibson replaces Clarke and Cloud comes on for Elliot. It didn’t stop what was now becoming a Lutterworth tidal wave. Rescuing the ball from a retreating scrum they simply moved it right and strolled in virtually unopposed, the conversion bringing to an end a purple patch that had surely sealed the victory with the scoreboard having moved from a fairly even first half to 10 – 29 with only seventeen minutes played in the second period.
Thankfully, Newport were able to rally – a recovery that was eventually to bring them two very valuable bonus points.
As Newport began to dominate the scrum they were to win endless scrum penalties eventually prompting Mr Hurdley to present a yellow card to the visiting prop. Another scrum was won and the ball spun right where Dinning was able to cross, Ingram converting to reduce the arrears to 17 – 29 with about eleven minutes left to play. Dinning then put a great kick into the left-hand corner where Matt Hubbart took the line out allowing Newport to execute their own version of the catch and drive, Jake Goulson getting the score. Waqadau then danced through the Lutterworth defence before feeding Goulson who was swallowed up by the cover before he could get into gear.
The recovery appeared to have been snuffed out when Cloud was forced into touch near his own line and Lutterworth caught and drove over again for a converted try that gave then an unassailable 22 – 36 lead with not long left, or so it appeared!
Lutterworth then suffered another yellow card and Simpson was driven over from short range, Ingram converting to make it 29 – 36 with two minutes still remaining according to Mr Hurdley. Newport launched one last-ditch counter-attack from deep in order to try and snatch the draw but it wasn’t to be and Lutterworth took home the five points with Newport collecting just the two.
True, Newport were far from their best but credit must go to the visitors who put in an excellent performance and were worthy winners, one that suggests they could well be contenders for promotion when we come to the business end of the season.
Next up is a trip to Banbury next Saturday for a 3pm kick-off.