Newport announced their arrival in Europe by recording a brilliant victory
over 1998 Heineken Cup winners Bath at Rodney Parade.
The Black and Ambers, roared on by a capacity 11,000 crowd, blitzed Bath
through three first half tries.
And the 22-10 interval advantage proved too much of a hurdle for Bath to
overcome, despite replacement fly-half Shaun Berne's try 12 minutes from time
and persistent late pressure.
Newport prospered because they took their chances, leaving Bath to dig deep
ahead of next Saturday's tough pool four trip to Munster.
The home side survived a nervous closing 10 minutes after being reduced to 14
men when their South African skipper Gary Tiechmann was sinbinned for killing
possession.
But two Shane Howarth penalties after the break gave them breathing space, and
however hard Bath huffed and puffed they could not smash down Newport's
resistance.
This's triumph provided a memorable moment for Newport's millionaire backer
Tony Brown.
Fitness man Brown has transformed the club from an ordinary mid-table outfit
into serious Heineken Cup challengers through a significant investment that has
assembled a new-look squad and brought the public flooding back.
Bath had their moments, but the loss of fly-half John Preston, England centre
Mike Tindall and flanker Gavin Thomas through injury hardly helped the cause.
Newport took just six minutes to make their mark, conjuring up a wonderful try
to split open Bath's defence.
Fly-half Howarth looped with centre Andy Marinos, putting Mostyn clear in
space, and Watkins completed the job.
Howarth made a mess of the conversion, and although Preston briefly reduced
Bath's arrears, Newport added another quality try on 19 mins.
Ireland wing Mostyn displayed all his strength and pace by powering outside
his opposite number Ade Bayo and Newport were well on their way.
Howarth missed his first conversion attempt, but was allowed to re-take it by
Irish referee David Tyndall when Bath charged down to kick illegally, and he
made no mistake second time around.
Bath then lost Preston, but it sparked a period of concerted pressure that saw
Newport produce tackle after tackle to keep their line intact.
However, 10 mins before the break that resistance buckled when Bath number
eight Stan Lyle played in Welsh scrum half Garth Cooper and he scooted across
for the try.
England full-back Matt Perry converted to put Bath within striking distance,
yet Newport showed admirable character to finish the opening period on top.
Howarth booted a huge 50-metre penalty and in injury time Newport's Ian Gough
produced a crunching tackle, possession ran loose and Marinos was able to dart
over and Howarth converted.
Having established a commanding advantage, Newport knew that the second period
was all about preserving their lead.
After Marinos and Tindall had left proceedings through injury, Newport again
performed heroics in defence and they emerged unscathed from the third quarter,
gaining a bonus when Howarth kicked another penalty on the hour mark.
Facing a 15-point deficit, Bath were left with little option but to throw
caution to the wind and the impressive Berne rounded off a quality set-piece
movement with the visitor's second try, again improved by Perry.
Teichmann's yellow card guaranteed a tension-filled final for the Newport
faithful, but when Bath infringed within striking distance of the posts, Howarth
came up trumps with the game's final kick.
Newport received a standing ovation as they left the field and there is no
doubt that this win will put them in good heart for a quick double appointment
with French club Castros over the next two weekends.
Bath, meanwhile, must take stock, not only assessing their injury count but
hoping that absent fly-half playmaker Mike Catt will soon return from a sciatic
nerve problem to run the show for them once again.
Teams:
Newport:
Tries: Mostyn, M. Watkins, Marinos.
Cons: Howarth 2.
Pens: Howarth 3.
Newport: Pini, Mostyn, M. Watkins, Marinos, Breeze, Howarth,
Edwards, Snow, Richards, Garvey, Rawailui, Gough, Buxton,Forster, Teichmann.
Not Used: C. Jones, Young, Popham, Taylor, A. Lewis, Pritchard,Burn.
Bath:
Tries: Cooper, Berne.
Cons: Perry 2.
Pens: Preston.
Bath: Perry, Balshaw, De Glanville,
Tindall, A. Adebayo,Preston, Cooper, Barnes, Regan, Mallett, Haag, Borthwick,
G. Thomas, Clarke, Lyle.
Not Used: Long, Horsman, Voyce, Maggs, Gardiner, N. Thomas,Berne.
Att: 11,342
Ref: David Tindall.
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