THEY say the league table never lies but Newport coach Craig Warlow doesn’t believe for one minute that Carmarthen Quins are the second worst team in the Principality Premiership.

Newport, in fourth, host 11th-placed Quins at Rodney Parade on Tuesday night (7.30pm) with both sides smarting from narrow defeats to Llandovery and Ebbw Vale respectively on Saturday.

Warlow is adamant that Quins are far better than their lowly position suggests, and he insists that if his players start Tuesday evening’s game like they did against the Drovers then they will struggle.

The Black and Ambers gave themselves a mountain to climb in the second half at Church Bank as they trailed 30-8 going into the break, though they did recover to lose 36-30.

The two bonus points Warlow’s men picked up in defeat could be crucial come the end of the season when the play-off places are decided.

And while the Newport chief will be hoping his team can begin tonight’s clash like they finished Saturday’s, Quins’ 14-12 reverse against leaders Ebbw shows exactly how dangerous the visitors could be at Rodney Parade.

“Quins came to us in the Swalec Cup just after Christmas and blew us away,” said Warlow.

“We are not being fooled by the fact they are last but one in the table.

“There is no way on Earth that they are the second worst team in this league – I would put my mortgage on that.

“If we turn up with the attitude we had in the first half against Llandovery we will come unstuck.

“We didn’t start very well at all. It’s something we need to look at and take individual responsibility for.

“We were honest and open at half-time and given the score at that stage it was most definitely two points gained.

“We’ll be trying to get the balance right going into the Quins game.

“We need to figure out where it didn’t go right but also take that momentum from the second half.”

He added: “At 30-8 down on Saturday it looked like we were on the end of a big defeat.

“We were excellent in the second half and exploited the space that Llandovery left.

“I’m hoping those two points will prove vital in the long run.”

There is a chance that Newport, who have full-back Geraint O’Driscoll available again, could go to the top of the table after Tuesday night’s fixtures.