ELLIOT Frewen was a member of the Newport squad that suffered the embarrassment of propping up the Premiership, now the evergreen winger hopes to lift the trophy as champions.
The Black and Ambers head to Church Bank on Saturday to take on Llandovery in the final of the Premiership (kick-off 2.40pm).
It is a clash that pits the two best teams in the semi-professional game against each other, rivals that were separated by just a point at the end of the 24-game campaign.
Newport won 21 times in the regular season and when they thumped Ebbw Vale 48-16 in the semi-finals it was their 15th straight success.
It’s a far cry from 2014/15 when the Black and Ambers won just five games and finished 12th of 12.
“We’ve gone from being bottom of the league, when luckily it was ring-fenced, to this,” said Frewen, who made his Newport debut against Llanelli in September, 2011.
“We’ve been knocking on the door in the league for the last few seasons and this is the strongest that we have ever been.
“We’ve had some big occasions with semi-finals and finals, winning the Premiership Cup [in 2022], and I think it just shows how long it takes to build a team to get to where we are now.
“We’ve had some good teams and brilliant players over the years and you wonder why we haven’t got this far.
“I think that it is because we have built up to this together – it’s clicked and hopefully this is the season when something special will happen.”
Newport, who last won the league in 2004, have some exciting young talent in their squad but they are blended with seasoned campaigners, the likes of captain Ben Roach, talisman Matt O’Brien, Josh Skinner, Garin Harris.
There is no need to tread carefully when describing Frewen as an elder statesman – “I’ve accepted it” – and the winger is relishing his role.
“You can see the balance in the squad, we all feed of each other,” said Frewen, who turned 37 last week.
“The younger boys, with some of them from the professional environment with the Dragons, push the older ones and I think that we push them.”
Frewen was up against Ebbw’s Wales Under-20s winger Harry Rees-Weldon last weekend but provided one telling assist and also inched closer to a milestone.
The Wales Sevens international has racked up 232 appearances over 12 campaigns and has crossed for 92 tries.
Newport swap the Premiership for the new Elite Domestic Competition next season but Frewen intends to be on the wing in his bid to become the club’s 12th centurion in a try chart that is topped by the legendary Arthur ‘Monkey’ Gould on 159.
“I’m hanging on in there and still enjoy it!” said the winger, who was inducted into the Black and Ambers’ hall of fame in 2022 and helped the Dragons win the Premiership Rugby Sevens at Twickenham Stoop in 2015.
“I still love it, my body is in tatters after games but my passion for the game is still there.
“[Former Newport head coach] Craig Warlow told me that you just know when it’s the right time to hang up your boots. I’m not ready yet and my goal is to get 100 tries.”
Frewen won’t mind still being on 92 on Saturday night if he has a winner’s medal around his neck.
Newport’s try kings
1 Arthur Gould – 159, 2 Peter Rees – 158, 3 Ken Jones – 146, 4 John Lane and Reg Plummer – 132, 6 George Andrews – 120, 7 Jack Morley and Stuart Watkins – 114, 9 Marc Batten – 109, 10 Nigel Callard – 105, 11 Albert Stock – 103, 12 Fred Dauncey – 96, 13 Charlie Thomas – 95, 14 Elliot Frewen – 92, 15 Roy Burnett – 91, 16, Gareth Evans, Brian Jones, Hedley Rowland – 90.
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