It’s all a bit of a wash-out at Rodney Parade these days, with the pitch proving unfit to cope with the demands of hosting three teams. Robin Davey says the time has come for the city to decide if it actually wants to host major matches.

 

One of world rugby’s most famous grounds which has seen the All Blacks, Springboks and Wallabies all vanquished, is losing its halo.

In fact, it’s rapidly becoming a standing joke.

Standing is the appropriate word, too, for Rodney Parade has had so much standing water on it recently that it’s rapidly resembling the River Usk which runs almost alongside it.

Drainage problems have long been an issue, but the situation has become more and more acute in the past three years since a rather rash decision was made to accommodate not only two rugby sides on the pitch, but a football team as well.

As it was, both Newport and Newport Gwent Dragons used it, but in 2013 Newport County signed a ten-year lease to use the ground which is owned by Rodney Parade Ltd.

Without the agreement they would never have been able to play in the Football League for Spytty Park, their previous headquarters, did not meet FL standards.

Having fought long and hard – even taking the Welsh FA to court and winning – to return from exile back across the Severn Bridge and then rising even further through the ranks into the Football League, the situation was desperate.

So, Rodney Parade became County’s adopted home and while no-one is blaming them for all the pitch problems, clearly having three teams playing on it is having an adverse effect – even more so as it is a ‘normal’ grass surface.

The beleaguered ground staff work almost around the clock in an effort to keep the pitch playable, but when the bad weather kicks in there’s not a lot they can do.

Once the heavy rain starts it’s all in the lap of the gods. Indeed, the County have now had games against Morecambe and Barnet called off at half-time because of a waterlogged pitch while earlier the Stevenage match had to be postponed.

A fortnight ago ground staff acted to put 29 tons of sand on the pitch in an effort to improve things, but it had little effect and last Saturday’s downpour caused the Morecombe match to be abandoned at half-time when County were leading 1-0.

The situation is pretty grave because next Wednesday they host a lucrative FA Cup replay against Plymouth which is due to be televised and will provide them with a £37,000 broadcast fee.

If the game goes ahead and County win it they then travel to Anfield to take on mighty Liverpool which would net them a further £144,000 in TV money plus a portion of the gate receipts.

So the club could gain in the region of £200,000 – riches, indeed, for a club of their standing if the second round replay goes ahead and they win it.

But if the replay is called off it’s unlikely it could be staged in time to allow the third round game to take place on the correct date, so the clubs would lose the TV money.

A lot is at stake then, and club officials will say many a prayer between now and next Wednesday, more so because the Dragons are playing on the pitch Friday night, hosting Worcester in the European Challenge Cup.

It all shines a light pretty brightly on Newport in a wider sense because while neighbouring Welsh cities Cardiff and Swansea flourish with their all-weather pitches, Newport is left floundering.

It would cost hundreds of thousands to install the type of desso pitch which is at the Liberty Stadium, for example, and no-one involved at Rodney Parade has that kind of money, or is prepared to put it in at any rate.

The FL tried to help last week by sending specialists to look at the pitch, but to date nothing has happened while the local authority have done precious little to help, certainly not in the same way as Swansea and Cardiff councils have done.

There are various conspiracy theories doing the rounds, like the building of loads of high rise apartments alongside the ground between it and the River Usk, amid suggestions that is having a detrimental effect on the drainage.

Whatever the issue and wherever the fault lies, the situation has become an embarrassment and surely can’t be tolerated much longer. It’s the only major ground in the country with three teams playing on it.

But many more postponements, much more of waterlogged pitches being shown on television, and Newport will become a sporting laughing stock.