All Blacks are determined to sign off in style

The All Blacks host Sheffield in the finale to a campaign which has seen them win the North Midlands Cup for the first time in their history and secure a top-five finish in the Midlands Premier Division.

A mood of celebration is expected as the club hosts an ex-players lunch prior to the match, with more than 300 guests ready to descend on Bridge Street.

But while Smallman wants his players to enjoy the occasion, he also wants them to finish strongly on the field too.

He said: “The message this week is that we want to finish on a high and that is what we will be trying our best to do.

“There is certainly an element of celebration about Saturday. We’ve got a marquee going up for the first time in 2019 and there are more than 300 people booked to come for lunch.

“But it won’t take the focus away from our preparation for the match. We want to try and go out with a bang by beating Sheffield.

“At the same time, I want the players to enjoy it as much as they can. Over the course of the season they have really earned it.

“There will certainly be a big celebration after the game.”

While Bridgnorth get ready to party, Newport head to Doncaster Phoenix aiming to finish the season with back-to-back wins, after last week’s win over Derby.

Newport are destined to finish third for the second straight year and their campaign as a whole is a case of what might have been, after a run of four defeats in six saw their promotion challenge disintegrate.

Director of rugby Bob Adams already has his sights on next season and will use tomorrow’s game to continue some of the experiments started in the win over Derby.

He said: “I’m expecting a good game at Doncaster. They are a young side who play a very attacking style of rugby on a 4G pitch. There should be plenty of scoring.

“No matter what happens at Doncaster, we have to take the positives from this season.

“Maybe, when we look back, we might accept we let our standards slip a bit. I am probably the most critical of all but those were the levels we had set ourselves.

“We are not a million miles away and we must learn from the experience.

“The team has probably learned it is not always what you do on the pitch which counts, but your preparation off it.”