Newport are geed up for Derby test
Director of rugby Bob Adams has called on Newport to deliver pitch perfect performance at Derby tomorrow.
Newport head into the game aiming for a win which will maintain the pressure on their Midlands Premier promotion rivals.
Adams believes the home side’s state-of-the-art 4G surface could be a match made in heaven for his team.
He explained: “We’ve played on artificial pitches before and the pace tends to be high, which suits our style.
“We won at Bournville last month on a similar surface to the one we will face at Derby. I have to say I quite like them.”
Adams is looking for an improved display after last weekend’s lacklustre outing against Burton, in which Newport narrowly avoided a damaging defeat.
A victory tomorrow could, depending on results elsewhere, see them go top of the table.
But Adams knows there is still a long way to go in the promotion race and reckons as many as six teams are still in contention.
He said: “At the moment you have just three points between ourselves, Scunthorpe and Bridgnorth but Luctonians are not much further back.
“Then you’ve got Sheffield and Broadstreet just behind them. Luctonians and Broadstreet were both National Two teams who have come down and I expect them to be strong over the second half of the season.
“We are going to have to play better. The positive thing is we are right in the mix, without having really played anywhere near our best rugby.
“By the same token, at some point, we have to perform.”
