ROSSLYN PARK 36-14 NEWPORT RFC – 18/08/25
The 1st XV kicked off their preseason campaign with an excellent win over a strong Newport RFC side.
An elongated preseason camp and some remarkable consistency (with the starting XV comprising mainly familiar faces returning from last year, bolstered by a smattering of new signings) lent itself to a fast start for the boys — and they didn’t disappoint. Bursting out of the blocks, the 1st XV found themselves in the ascendency early and soon converted pressure into points thanks to a slick lineout move, which saw Ewan Fenley open Park’s account for the season.
The new signings made an impact early, and it wasn’t long before winger Luke Mehson showed off his pace, streaking away from the defence down the left-hand side to double the lead to 14 — thanks also to Ed Morgan’s two conversions.
Newport struggled to gain a foothold during these early passages, with turnovers from Ali Wade and Jake Cleet disrupting their momentum, alongside stellar lineout defence which pushed the visitors back at a 5m lineout and forced a handling error. This poor spell for Newport was compounded by a Charlie Walker try, as the winger took a quick tap from a penalty 8m out and bust through two tackles to go over.
The visitors found more success in the final 10 minutes of the half, finally opening their account after several minutes camped deep in Park’s territory. The defence held firm for a while but was eventually pierced when Jon Morris crossed over, Newport opting to move the ball wide after being repeatedly repelled around the fringes. They added a second on the stroke of halftime, as a fluffed Park lineout caused just enough chaos to narrow the defence in anticipation of a turnover, opening space out wide for a crossfield kick and an inside pop to Morris once again.
In the second half it was all Park, as the boys added three more tries without conceding another point. First, Mehson secured his debut brace, getting on the end of a perfectly weighted Charlie Mulchrone kick in behind. Substitute and fellow debutant Ed Volley then joined the scoresheet, sparking a break with a line bust in his own half before re-positioning to finish the move out wide just a few phases later.
The pace slowed somewhat in the half-hour following Volley’s try, with play largely confined to the middle third. Notable moments included several scrum penalties won by the Park pack — one against the head — as well as Joe Luca Smith coming within inches of extending the lead, only to be denied by a brilliant Newport cover tackle that dislodged the ball over the tryline.
In the end, Park proved too much for the visitors, who couldn’t quite claw themselves back into the contest. Second-row Jake Cleet cemented the result in the final minutes with a well-deserved try, powering over the line to cap off a phenomenal first game back for the team.
By Rhys Stratton
ROSSYLN PARK
Tries: Fenley (4’), Mehson (10’, 43’), Walker (28’), Volley (46’), Cleet (78’)
Conversions: Morgan (5’, 11’), Johnston (47’)
Penalties: N/A
Yellow Cards: N/A
Team: Wade, Fraine*, Woodward, Cleet, Bell, Spencer, Ellis, Orchard*, Fenley, Morgan, Mehson*, Kennaugh, Stanton, Walker, J. Smith
Replacements: Cameron, Cade, Charalambous, Gillanders, Sadiki*, Mulchrone, Johnston*, Vaughan*, Volley*, Panday, Trimble
NEWPORT RFC
Tries: Morris (33’, 40’)
Conversions: James (34’, 40’)
Penalties: N/A
Yellow Cards: N/A
Team: Devine, Palmer, Drake, Burgess, Bradbury, Reid, Rees, Roach, Welch, James, Lewis, Foster-Smith, Morris, Williams, Penny
Replacements: Fry, Jenkins, Purnell, Smith, Skinner, Chatham, Davies, Stevens, O’Brien, Nightingale, Pyrs Jones, Baker, Salter
Highlights of the game can be found on our YouTube channel HERE!
Up next for Park: Friday Night Lights preseason game at The Rock vs Westcombe Park!