Bridgend shock Newport

Newport 5 Bridgend 13

Newport made the worst possible start to their Celtic League campaign tonight as a Dafydd James-inspired Bridgend toppled them at Rodney Parade.

Lion James sprinted over for a first-half try following a storming run by his fellow Welsh international and Bridgend debutant Andy Moore.

Territorially, Newport dominated much of the game, but wing Andrew Wagstaff and number eight Andrew Powell were both denied early scores by a tigerish Bridgend defence.

And it was a similar story during the second period, with flanker Jason Forster narrowly failing to round off his own opportunism through a clever kick and chase that had Bridgend back-peddling.

Bridgend, coached by former Newport supremo Allan Lewis, looked a much-improved outfit from last season, recruiting well through the arrival of lock Moore, Tongan scrum-half Sililo Martens and ex-Gloucester number 10 Simon Mannix.

Even when Mannix was sin-binned early in the second-half for killing possession, Newport could not make their temporary one-man advantage count.

Fly-half Shane Howarth missed three penalties in eight minutes – his third failure coming when Mannix was off – and Bridgend kicker Craig Warlow showed him exactly how it should be done by rifling over a 54th-minute strike from just inside Newport territory.

Trailing 13-0 midway through the second-half, Newport coach Leigh Jones sent on Jason Strange for Matt Pini and switched an out-of-sorts Howarth to full-back. It was a move that won little approval from a 6,000-strong crowd.

Howarth went into the game needing only eight points to break Paul Turner’s all-time Newport career record of 992, but he had a shocker and the Black and Ambers paid a significant price.

Having established a healthy lead, Bridgend had no intention of letting it slip, with Moore, Martens and number eight Nathan Budgett all proving calming influences as Newport went for broke.

Further substitutions confirmed Jones’ growing state of anxiety, but Bridgend preserved their impeccable defensive record through several further telling tackles.

Forster bagged a 77th-minute touchdown from close range, but it was too little too late to rescue the points as Newport trudged off to the accompaniment of resounding boos.