Monday 2 February 2026 11:07
Lutterworth 12pts v Newport 46pts
Many saw this game as a potential banana skin following Lutts impressive win at the Old Showground back in October but whilst their main title contenders Bournville were slipping up at Newent, the result here was never in doubt as Newport put in probably their best showing of the season, most of which was due to a masterful display from their pack.
Uluaki Kale was given the honour of leading out the team for his last match having earned himself a full-time professional contract in Romania. The Tongan Under 21 international at both League and Union has been with the club for almost two seasons and quickly established himself as a “talisman” both at Newport and at Telford Raiders. He will be sorely missed but we wish him well in the next stage of his career and we will be following his progress with interest.
Newport had the advantage of slope and breeze first up and there was little sign of what was to come when they spilled the kick-off and found themselves under immediate pressure but Newport’s defence held firm just as it did virtually all afternoon.
Newport then won a set of repeat penalties allowing Billy Dinning to give Newport a line out within eight metres of the Lutterworth line. The first drive was repelled by the home defence but good control set up the opportunity for a second and it was George Perkins who crossed for what was to be his first of three on the day.
The Lutterworth scrum appeared to be creaking somewhat under pressure from the Newport front row drawing a penalty that took the visitors back into a good attacking position where Mike Adams burst through the middle making good ground before being felled but Newport had got in behind and Elliot Dolphin floated a lovely long miss pass to Tim Waqadau who crossed at the corner and with the conversion going wide they led 0 – 10 after twelve minutes.
A rare home attack was then halted by Charlie Pugh who was deemed to have knocked on deliberately and was dispatched to the sin-bin to take a rest for ten minutes.
Jack Ingram then took a quick tap penalty on half way and scampered through a retreating defence before linking admirably with John Tuia, Chris Taylor and Adams who between them created enough space for Dinning to glide through for their third score, Ingram nailing the conversion this time to make it 0 – 17 after twenty-three minutes. Taylor collected the re-start, as he often does, and put Waqadau away on a weaving run down the left touchline. The damage was done and after several tight controlled phases Perkins was in for his second, four try bonus point already secured with twenty-five minutes on the clock.
Port were nearly in again but Dinning’s pass to Waqadau was intercepted but opportunities were constantly being created as they remained physically dominant, Dinning’s penalty to ten out setting up a catch and drive try for Adams to stretch their lead to 0 – 27
Lutterworth prevented any further damage before the break but it would take a monumental effort for them to get back into this game, especially in the light of Newport’s thrilling and clinical display so far.
They gave themselves some early hope when setting up a catch and drive try of their own on forty-four minutes to cut the deficit to 5 – 27 but any respite was short-lived when Ricky Bailey and Waqadau combined before popping Tuia through the gap, the flanker doing well to free his arms from a double tackle and off-load to Kale for a much-deserved farewell score, Ingram converting to give them a 5 – 34 advantage.
Lutterworth continued to compete but couldn’t find any real cutting edge to unlock the Newport defence. The game was then played between the opposing twenty-two’s before Jake Goulson was held up over the line that forced a goal line drop out which Lutterworth then put out on the full giving Port a five-metre scrum under the home posts. The way things were going it wasn’t a position that they looked likely to squander and sure enough after good, tight, controlled phases Perkins battled through to complete his hat-trick, Ingram tacking on the extras to make it 5 – 41 with eleven minutes left to play.
There was still more to come when a penalty into the corner set up another opportunity for a driving maul with Goulson on the end of it this time to register their eighth try and an emphatic scoreline of 5 – 46
Lutterworth gained some consolation with a late converted catch and drive try after which Newport again re-established their authority before the game was brough to a close and a full-time score of 12 – 46
It is some time since we witnessed such a complete and co-ordinated display from a Newport pack of forwards and they fully deserve credit for their efforts, James Tideswell, Adams and Luke Kendall for some excellent scrummaging, rock-solid defence and strong carries. Perkins and Goulson, a real physical presence in the second row allowing the back row of Tuia, Kale and Taylor to flourish off the efforts of the front five. Tom Clarke and Rhys Morgan also made big impressions after entering from the bench
A word too for Head Coach, Craig Ingram and the forwards coaches Jack Wells and Tom Cowell, all former Newport players of course who have worked tirelessly with the players to produce such a complete performance.
Prior to the weekend’s games it was very much Bournville in the driving seat but their defeat has really opened up the chase for the title and automatic promotion back to the National Leagues, a story which will doubtless unfold over the coming weeks. As insurance Newport now have an eleven-point advantage over the play-off chasers in fourth place and below.
Bournville will doubtless return to top place when they play at Drybrook next weekend to complete their game in hand whilst everyone else has a week off but their lead will be a maximum of one solitary point