Battling win keeps Newport on course

With two games remaining, the Forton Road side are still three points clear of second-placed Bournville with their fate very much in their own hands.

Saturday’s win was achieved without the injured duo of Jake Bates and Jon Evans and a number of players suffering from a virus which had swept through the club during the week.

With Hereford still not safe from relegation and facing a possible points deduction this was never going to be an easy task and so it proved, with Newport’s solid defence and durability eventually seeing them to victory in a hard-fought encounter.

With Carwyn Howells and Jordan Grass coming in to replace Bates and Evans in the pack, Newport made a lightening start to race into a 12-0 lead inside the opening four minutes.

First Kirk Robinson made good yards into the Hereford half before feeding Henry Vaka who in turn offloaded to Chris Perry for the opening score which Liam Holder duly converted.

Immediately from the restart Jake Goulson made inroads into the Hereford defence before handing onto Vaka again, his perfectly timed pass sending winger Sam Hughes in for the second try.

With a solid advantage built, Newport were able to keep the hosts at arms length for the rest of the afternoon.

Indeed every time Hereford looking like overhauling their visitors, Newport promptly accelerated away again. A penalty and try reduced the deficit to four points but good handling then allowed Nathan Parker to crash over and though the conversion was missed, Holder charged in at the corner soon after for Newport’s fourth try of the first half.

A healthy advantage at the break looked likely but Hereford would not yield and took advantage of some sloppy tackling to reduce the lead to seven points.

With Newport skipper Tom Cowell then forced off by illness at the break, the hosts then laid siege to the visiting defence after the restart, only excellent defence spearheaded by Howells, Jack Wells and Mike Venn keeping them out.

A clinical break then saw Kirk Robinson feed Holder for his second try of the game to restore some breathing room but Hereford promptly hit back with a converted score to move within five points and holding a man advantage after Venn was sent to the bin.

Newport, however, held their nerve. A Holder penalty restored their two score advantage before - with the hosts pushing forward - a wayward pass was intercepted by Jamie Robinson, who fed Kirk Robinson to score the game sealing try.

Newport now host the already-relegated bottom club Kenilworth knowing eight points from the final two games is all they need to seal the title.

For Whitchurch, at the other end of the table, the situation has become increasingly dire and they must now win at home to third-placed Burton this Saturday to stand any chance of survival.

There was no doubting their dedication and determination during a 48-20 defeat at Bournville last weekend.

A powerful performance from the Whitchurch forwards made things very tricky for the promotion-chasing hosts and they went in level with the scores at 10-10 at half-time.

But the game was lost in the space of 10 minutes at the start of the second half, as Bournville ran in four unanswered tries to build a 24-point lead they never looked like relinquishing.

Whitchurch did manage two tries of their own during the closing stages but the damage was already done and they now sit six points from safety.

A fixture list which sees Stoke and Hereford, two of the teams still catchable in the table, meet this weekend offers a glimmer of hope, but Whitchurch will have to win their final two games to stand any chance of escape.