Newport seal backs to the wall win (From Campaign Series)

Newport seal backs to the wall win

8:50am Saturday 21st November 2009

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Newport 21 Exeter 14

THEIR bodies will be battered, bruised and aching but Newport won’t care after a rip-roaring win over English full-timers Exeter at Rodney Parade last night.

The Black and Ambers launched the British and Irish Cup in style by handing out a first defeat of the season to the Chiefs, and had to do it the hard way.

A suffocating defence and touches of magic from full-back Gareth Wyatt ensured it was a night to remember – especially as Newport effectively played a half with 14 men after receiving FOUR yellow cards.

Connor Calzaghe, son of Joe, led out the teams and while the shock that followed can’t quite be classed in the same bracket as Rocky beating Apollo Creed it was still a turn up for the books.

Exeter are leading the way in the English Championship with a perfect 11 wins from 11 and, with eyes understandably focused on the Guinness Premiership, left their big guns on the sidelines.

But such is he depth of pockets over the border that they were still able to field a team of professionals.

It was Newport who started sharply but both teams soon had to start up again courtesy of a worrying injury to Chiefs tighthead Ruaidhri Murphy, who was treated for nine minutes after a scrum went down.

After all precautions were taken the big prop thankfully walked from the field with his left arm in a strap.

Yet soon it was the fists rather than the arms to the fore after an almighty dustup involving both packs (with some backs also daring to enter the fray).

The two locks that started it – Newport’s Dafydd Rosser and Exeter’s former Dragon Sean Tomes – were sent to the sin bin and others can count themselves lucky that they did not follow.

The Newport Centre may lose its title as the home of boxing in the city after the Gwent derby rumble with Pontypool earlier in the campaign.

After the dust had settled it was Newport who continued to press and their reward came on the half hour when fly-half Chris Wannell, who had been wide from the kicking tee on five minutes, booted a penalty.

That served to wake the visitors up and they weren’t interested in three points.

Instead they kicked to the corner yet they met their match in a competitive Newport line-out and fierce defence which allowed the hosts to clear their lines.

And boy did they make their escape count on the stroke of half-time. Skipper Andrew Coombs shipped the ball on to Alex Walker from the base of a scrum 30 yards out and his flat pass was fielded by Wyatt, who showed both pace and terrific balance to jink over untouched.

Wannell converted and then kicked another penalty after an infringement by the rather mardy Tomes.

Exeter knew they were in a game – a point reinforced by fly-half Danny Gray going for goal rather than touch from the next penalty – and it was soon an 18-point one.

Once again it was that magician Wyatt who turned ball that was simply being shipped from left to right into a try after a perfect chip and gather to dash over with the final play of the half.

Wannell made it a 21-point buffer early in the second half but it was far from game over.

Newport loosehead Dai Pattison was sin-binned after Scottish ref Graham Knox got fed up with the infringements and Exeter laid siege to their line.

Number eight Michael Stupple barged over from a scrum for the Chiefs after they shoved Newport’s seven-man pack off their own ball.

Wing Alan Awcock became the third Newport man to see yellow and the hosts really had to did deep with back row forwards Sam Waldron and Andrew Coombs inspirational.

The ‘foreign’ players were also doing more than their bit with Bedwas’ Tom Cooper a real hit in midfield and Cross Keys flanker Toby Faletau adding a injection of vigour off the bench.

No sooner had Awcock returned than Waldron was binned for a late hit but somehow Newport dug even deeper.

Wing Nic Sestaret inched over the line a minute into injury time and the nerves set in after Gray converted yet, after more frantic defending, there was to be no denying Newport.

Newport: G Wyatt, R Owen, R Payne, T Cooper, A Awcock, C Wannell (D Griffiths 57), A Walker, D Pattison, A Brown, G Robinson, D Rosser, A Jones (A Frampton 70), S Waldron, C Hill (I Evans 49-57, T Faletau 57), A Coombs (captain).

Scorers: tries - G Wyatt (2); conversion - C Wannell; penalties - C Wannell (3) Exeter: S Marsden, N Sestaret, B Rennie (M Cornwall 72), T Bedford, P McKenzie, D Gray, C Stuart-Smith (R bolt 63), B Moon, S Nelson (S Blythe 60), R Murphy (J Andrew 8), S Tomes (T Freeman 55), J Hanks, Alan Miller (captain), Andy Miller (L Calder 76), M Stupple (D Ewes 76).

Scorers: tries - M Stupple, N Sestaret; conversions - D Gray (2) Referee: Graham Knox (SRU) Argus star man: Andrew Coombs

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