This half-season saw the demise of Rogerstone. With the game going professional a number of players sought payment for their services and the club lost a number of leading players, mostly to Pill Harries. Gary and Mark Williams,Mike Diez, Martin Rogers and Neil Stanworth all departed leaving the club with a verry difficult league fixture list with a much weaker side. In hindsight perhaps the then committee should have withdrawn the club from the league and regrouped for on 30th March1996 the club were able to call on forty players to fulfil two fixtures but within nine months it ceased to exist. The Richard Chape struggled manfully as captain aided loyally by old faithfuls, Chris Thomas, Peter Wells ,Dave Chape and Matthew Jeffery with Jamie Venn 10, Andy Williams(top scorer with 38 points) , Martin Crockett and Nathan Davies 9 also contributing well to the club's effort. There were huge defeats, Newport Civil Service 0-72, Caerleon 10-67 and Girlings 15-44 as the club won only two and drew one of its 12 fixtures. The end came at Whiteheads on 28th December 1996 when the club lost 10-12 at Whiteheads.

Many people regretted the demise of Rogerstone and over the next few years, club regulars would meet up and occasional veterans fixtures would be played. Eventually it was decided attempts would be made to reform the club and thanks to huge efforts from Mike Halford, Mark Williams, The Stanworth brothers, Bob Williams, Peter Wells and Kevin Shill and others they were successful in their wish and Rogerstone(Part 2) began.

Mark Williams was again in charge as he led the club to 15 wins and 2 draws from 27 fixtures. Gary Williams was again top scorer with 153 points. Dan Procter scored 13 tries with 12 tries 2 penalty goals and a conversion from Neil Stanworth.Vice Captain,Andy Williams and Ian Whitfield both scored 7 tries.Mike Diez 24, Richard Chape 23 Andy Williams 22, Procter and Stanworth 21 made the most appearances. The club beat amongst others, Usk 2nds 61-7, Llanbradach 30-12, Caldicot 2nds 29-13 and Howardian 2nds 109-0 when Gary Williams scored 34 points and Procter 5 tries.The club visited Somerset for a short tour and Burnham were beaten 37-0 before there was a 19-17 defeat at Cheddar a match in which Roger Panting came out of retirement to complete 350 games for the club. The 2nd XV under the captaincy of Richard Hill won 7 and drew 1 of 21 games. Hill played in 20 games as did Martin Guy with Matthew Jeffery on 18. Nathan Davies top scored with 56 points with 7 tries from Tony Evans and 6 from Jeffery.

Mark Williams continued as captain with Andy Williams as his deputy. The club won 18 and drew 2 of its 28 fixtures. Gary Williams led the way with 201 points. Dan Procter 12, Andy Williams 11, and Chris Thomas 9 led the try scorers with Neil Stanworth chipping in with 46 points. Mike Diez 27, Stanworth andThomas 26, Tony Samuel and Gary Williams 25 led the appearances chart There were debuts for Martin Crockett and Dean Jones. There were notable wins over Girlings 36-7, Chepstow 2nds 29-18 and St Josephs FP 48-5. Tour was to Brighton but there were two defeats- Sussex Police 7-48 and a Brighton XV 12-22. The club 2nd Xv under the leadership of Simon Smith played a creditable nineteen fixtures with Jason Townsend and D.Matthews 18, Mike Twohigg and Carl Bridges 16 the leading appearers. Nathan Davies scored 38 points from his 15 appearances.

Mark Williams resumed the captaincy with Neil Stanworth vice. An improved performance saw the club only lose 10 in 32 games. Gary Williams played his first full season for the club and made a huge difference appearing in 31 of the matches and scoring 272 points to break the club record. He scored 9 tries as did Stanworth with Darren Parker and Mike Diez on 8, Matthew Jeffery and Dave Chape on 7. In a marvellous effort Diez became the first player to play in every game in a season with Stanworth 29 ,Groombridge 28 and the captain 27 also figuring prominently. Second Row Tony Samuel with 22 and new scrum half, Martin Rogers 15 also impressed. The club reached the semi-finals of the Newport and District Cup before losing to Hartridge but there were convincing wins over Aberbeeg 22-5, St Julians 46-7 and St Josephs 32-0.Richard Chape was Player of the Year with Bob Williams as clubman. For the first time in their history the club fielding a 2nd XV led by Brian Barton, they were able to win 3 and draw 1 of their 8 games. Apart from Martin Rogers there was a debut for the highly promising,Dan Proctor

Thomas completed a hat-trick of captaincy. This time 17 wins and 2 draws in 36 games. There was an improvement in the try tally with 95 tries. Neil Stanworth 11, Darren Parker 10 and Mike Diez 9 the best achievers. Gary Williams made 16 appearances for the club and managed 130 points followed by Mark Huxtable win 61. Diez 35,Thomas 33, Andrew Groombridge 29 and Neil Stanworth 27 were appearance leaders. Porthcawl 27-24, Ely 57-14,Sully 37-10 and Gabalfa 57-10 were all good victories for the club.Tour saw a return to Plymouth with wins over Plymouth Argaum 27-8 and Plympton 45-12 with Richard Chape Man of Tour. Aled Rees,Haydn Cox and Steve Miles all made debuts for the club. Gary Williams collected the Player of the Year trophy and for the second year running captain,Thomas was the clubman of the year.

Thomas continued with the captaincy with again Neil Stanworth as his vice. This year for the first time in many seasons saw the club lose more than it won with only 16 wins in 35 matches. Mike Diez 31, Matthew Jeffery 30, Stanworth and Huw Bevan 27 were the major contributors to the appearance chart. Newcomer,Mark Huxtable managed 77 points , Brian Barton 45 and of a very disappointing try tally of only 61, Stanworth 8 was the top. Whitchurch Hospital 40-11, Machen 17-3, and Monmouth 26-18 were the club's best wins. Eight of the losses were by less than eight points but Deri 0-36 in the Welsh Brewers Cup and Newport Saracens 3-34 inflicted heavy defeats. Gary Williams made his debut for the club and in the game against Risca Athletic scored a crucial 10 points for an impressive win. Cornwall was the venue for the Tour with a 21-7 defeat at St Ives and a 28-14 win over St Just. Peter Wells was Man of Tour with Diez adjudged Player of the Year,

Chris Thomas took over the reins as skipper to achieve a record of 20 wins and 3 draws from 39 matches. Thomas led by example playing in 35 of the games with Brian Barton,Roy Lewis 33, Huw Bevan 32, Andrew Bartlett 31 and Mike Diez 30 all reaching a tally of 30. Young wing, Steve Bartlett threatened the try-scoring record with an incredible 28 tries from 23 appearances. Barton 102 and Rosser 82 were top point scorers. Lewis 13 and Dave Chape 9 followed Bartlett in the tries. There were notable wins over Chepstow 28-7, Monsanto 40-9, Gabalfa 44-8 and Cwmcarn Utd 34-19. Bartlett remarkably scored hat-tricks against Llandaff North, West Mon OB, Gabalfa and Jersey Police on Tour. Tunbridge Wells were also played on that visit but Rogerstone went down 16-14 with Richard Chape selected as Man of Tour.

Howard Williams was in charge of a season which saw the club win only 50% of its 36 games. Huw Bevan, Dave Chape 31 each, Chris Thomas 30 and Brian Barton 29 were best of the appearance front. Barton 128pts, Rosser 65, at top of the points chart with only Chape and Darren Parker 10 each getting to double figures for tries scored. Mike Diez, Simon Smith,Roy Lewis,Andrew and Steve Bartlett ,Darren Parker,Peter Wells were all introduced into the club as many new faces replaced the old guard with the likes of Panting,David Evans, Brian Johnson and Robert Morris either reducing their availability or retitring from the game.Excellent wins were achieved over Risca Athletic 23-21, Bedwas 22-3,,Lisvane 43-8 and Cardiff Saracens 30-13. Tour again saw two defeats at Aspull 13-26 and Chorley 16-24 with Steve Bartlett the man of tour.

The Williams boys took charge with Mark as captain and Howard as his deputy. The club won 19 and drew 2 of its' 35 fixtures. Rosser 29, Howard Williams, Clive Rogers 28 each, Brian Barton and Dave Chape 27 made most appearances and that was reflected in scoring chart with Rosser leading the way with 199 points, with Howard 8 and Stuart 7 Williams top try scorers. Tour was disappointing as the club lost heavily to Preston Grasshoppers 22-3 and Blackpool 29-8. Dave Parsons did win Player of the Tour and the best wins came over Machen 26-0 in the Newport and District Cup, Monmouth 28-17 and Cardiff Saracens 22-0. Kevin Shill and Dave Stanworth both made debuts with newcomer Barton, Andy Evans(20 apps) and Bob Williams(27 apps) performing with merit in a somewhat disappointing season.

Panting resumed the captaincy with David Evans as his understudy with the club winning 30 of its 39 fixtures. Rosser made the most appearances with 36 and improved his club record to an impressive 238 points. Evans 34, Panting 33 and Richard Chape 30 were close behind in the appearance chart with Panting 17, Howard Williams and Brian Johnson 10 the players to reach double figures in respect of tries.Chris Thomas, Matthew Jeffery and Darren Williams began their careers with the club. Best wins were achieved over West Mon OB 42-0, St Josephs FP 21-3 and Crickhowell 25-10. The club toured Jersey for the first time with three wins, Jersey Police 22-8, Jersey United Banks 26-6 and Beeches OB 27-20. Paul Morris was Man of Tour scoring a try in each of the three games. Flanker, Brian Johnson, scored four tries in the win over West Mon and Mike Halford who to play a major part of the club in years to come burst on the scene.

This was probably the club's most successful season when team again led by Parsons lost only 6 and drew 2 of 35 matches. Good wins were collected over Cwmcarn Utd 20-6, Cwmbran Quins 18-12 and there was a double of local rivals,Whiteheads. Tour saw the club break new ground with a trip to Essex with wins over Romford/Gidea Park 10-7 and Ilford Wanderers 18-0. Old rivals, Plympton toured the area and were defeated 11-4 on a snow covered pitch.Dave Chape made most appearances with 30 followed by Paul Rosser and Dave Evans with 29. Rosser broke the club record to total 161 points with Dave Chape 12 Panting 11 and Pask 10 reaching double figures in respect of tries.Steve Prichard, Richard Hill, Bob Williams, Andrew Groombridge and Roger Cliford all made debuts for the club whilst Andrew Collingborn(23 apps), Richard Bosustow(21apps) and Stuart Williams(18apps) were all key members of a competive pack.

This season saw David Parsons take over as captain as the club won 24 and drew 3 of its' 39 games. There were impressive wins over St Julians HSOB 48-6, Crumlin Athletic 36-17, Llanwern 36-10 and Cwmbran Quins 25-3. The club undertook two tours,appearing in the Bournemouth festival where Chelsea College of Eastbourne were defeated 13-3 before Thurrock were 17-8 winners, and again to Plymouth where there was a win at Salcombe and a draw at Plympton with Paul Gray picking up Man of Tour. The season saw debuts of many players who would serve the club greatly in future seasons in the Chape brothers,Richard and David, Paul Morris,Neil Stanworth,Paul Rosser, Bernard Jeffery and Julian Pask. Panting topped the appearance chart with 33 appearances closely followed by Mark Wiliams 31, with Parsons and David Evans 29. Rosser top scored with 94 points with Panting and Pask top try scores with 15 each. Andrew Clements 14 and Dave Chape 11 also had impressive tallies with Mark Williams scoring a rare hat-trick for a prop in the win over St.Julians.

The club's best season to date with 29 wins from 35 fixtures. Panting the skipper made 31 appearances along with Bill Morris and Alan Jenkins to top the charts. Mike Johnson 28 Clive Rogers ,Mark Williams, Dave Parsons 27 next best. Bill Morris 114 and newcomer Ian Watkins 85 were notable in the points chart. Panting 19 and Alan Jenkins 18 led the try scorers. Debuts for Terry Wakeley, Pau Gray and Newport players Bob Guilfoyle and David Jones and Welsh youth international David O'Driscoll. Excellent wins over Bishton/Underwood 18-0, Whiteheads 10-3 and Newport Police 28-3 saw club reach Newport and District semi-finals in which they beat Caldicot before losing to Bedwas in final. The club also reached final of Newport and District sevens when the team comprising of Rogers, W.Morris, D.Jones, A.Jenkins,Watkins,D.Lloyd and Dave Parsons reached the final only to lose 24-14 to Caerleon. Tour to Plymouth saw 3 wins with Parsons picking up Man of Tour.

Panting was again elected captain as the club won 26 of its 38 games. They scored 146 tries with Panting getting 25 of them. He was outscored by Robert Morris who collected 131 points with substantial contributions from Alan Jenkins 19 tries, Clive Jenkins 15 tries and 3 dropped goals and Nigel Vaughan eleven tries. Top appearance makers were the Morris brothers with 32 each, Panting and Mike Johnson 30 Alan 28 and brother Clive 26.There was high scoring wins over Old Bristolians 50-6, Whiteheads 36-13, Cathays HSOB 86-6, and Cwmbran Quins 30-0. There were debuts for Chris Beale,David Cain and,David (Hoover) Evans. Three games on tour saw three wins , Salcombe 21-18, Topsham 27-6 and Plympton 38-6 with Alan Jenkins, a try in each game , picking up Man of Tour.

The season began as Birchgrove Wanderers, affiliated to Cardiff and District Junior Union but finished as Rogerstone in Newport and District. Double international allocations from the WRU. Panting is elected captain with Andrew Clements as vice-captain as the team win 25 of its 33 fixtures.Future English international, Jonathan Callard, appears for school in morning and 15 times for the club in the afternoon.Thanks to the great efforts of councillor Ian Tutton, Rogerstone made its home debut at Cefn Wood on 6th November 1982 defeating Cathays HSOB 20-12. There were excellent wins over Cleve 48-7, Widden OB 45-0, Drybrook 60-0 and Kingswood 50-0 . Panting and Brian Johnson 29 each, Tutton 28 Mike Johnson 27 Pete Durston and Jim Brisbane 23 led appearances chart. Panting 135pts(club record 33 tries), Callard 121 pts followed by Durston thirteen tries topped points scores. Huw Bevan ,Richie Clements and Richard Bosustow all made debuts and the tour to Plymouth was again a succesful one with wins over Salcombe 14-9 and Plympton 44-6. David Corne picked up Man of Tour scoring twenty two points in the two games.

The club was back but it was the season of all seasons which included the famous incident at Whitehall of 24th October 1981. On that occasion Chris Edwards and John Rees were sent off by the referee, who was subsequently assaulted. The club featured in various newspapers including the Sun where Bassaleg appeared alongside ex-pupil Stuart Barnes who was about to appear for Oxford University in the varsity match.As a result of the incident the name of Bassaleg GSOB was consigned to history with Birchgroved Wanderers, surreptiously being formed and then Rogerstone was created. Panting led the side in 21 of its 22 fixtures of which 16 were won and two drawn and he enlisted members of the league profession, Jim Brisbane andJonathan Baxter-Wright, Fugitives cricketers, Howard Williams and Dave Adams to supplement old faces. Many of the fixtures were played in Bristol with some big wins being achieved over Gordano 41-6, Winscombe 57-0 and Drybrook 46-9. Apart from Panting, Ian Tutton and Brian Johnson 20 Mike Johnson and Steve Lockyer 19 led the appearances. Brian Johnson once again won Man of Tour,again to Plymoutrh with Dave Corne 133 pts, Panting 19 tries and Clive Jenkins 11 tries and two drop goals leading the points chart

The club struggled as it only won 9 of its 31 games with once again Panting's availability being limited appearing in only 7 games. Billy Morris did a tremendous job as skipper in trying circumstances appearing in 30 games with Mike Johnson 28, Harwood and Jeffries 23, Chris Godwin and Brian Johnson 21 the next best. There were debuts for Mike Dale,Clive Rogers,John Bevan and Mike Bishop. There were heavy defeats at Bedwas 0-44 ,PIll Harries 3-48 and Pentyrch 0-51 but still the club managed to undertake two tours. One to Bournemouth when the club lost 4-14 at Ellingham and the other to Sussex defeating Seaford 22-14 and Newick 70-0 when Panting created a club record of 42 pts(6 tries and 9 conversions). Llanishen 42-3 and Panteg 22-9 were also good wins for the club in a disappointing season which saw Panting top points chart with only 69 points followed by Robert Morris with 42. As a result the club folded for two years until it was resurrected in 1981-82.

This season saw a reversal in the fortunes of the club with the influental Panting absent on legal training in London until March and hence the club were only able to win 9 of its 28 games. Pyle was elected captain but soon resigned leaving Robert Morris in charge. He led the appearances with 21 followed by Hywel Jones and Brian Johnson with 19 followed by Mike Johnson 18, David Jeffries 16 and Bill Morris and Martin Corne with 15.The club didn't win a game in its' first fourteen games but the return of Panting saw them win 9 of the last 14 including two wins on tour against Plympton 14-3 and Jesters 34-20 with Brian Johnson again being man of tour. There were debuts for Steve Lockyer and Terry Millichamp with Panting still topping the points chart with 58points followed by Robert Morris with 45. John Harwood scores 7 tries,Gary Greenhaf 6 and best wins came over Llanishen 66-0 and Chipping Sodbury 50-6.

Alan Pyle was elected captain with Robert Morris as vice-captain in a season which saw the club win 23 of its 42 games.Top appearances were made by Dave Jeffries 35, Kilbane, Panting and Pyle 30each with Martin Corne,Morris,Brian James and newcomer,John Barton all on 29. There were debuts for amongst others Byron Faulkner and Glyn Walters. Notable wins included Old Culverhazians(Bath) 42-0,Frys (Bristol) 74-4, with Blight scoring five tries, and Morganstown 34-3.Rob Urquhart topped the scoring chart with 117 points closely followed by Panting with 115 including 19 tries. Walters collected 15 tries, Blight and Kenny Hales ten tries each with Owen Leeds totalling 42points. Tour saw the club in Bournemouth defeating Old Portcastrians 4-0 with a try from Chris Taylor and Wimboirne 11-0 with tries from Peter Durston and John Harwood and a penalty from Panting. Brian Johnson was awarded the player of the tour award.

The club took off in earnest undertaking no less than 46 fixtures of which 25 were won. Panting, captained the side, and Peter Durston led the appearances with 33 followed by hooker,Mark Kilbane 31, Full back,Robert Davies 29, Martin Corne 28, Dave Jeffries 27, vice captain Micky Beale and Chris Edwards 26, and wings Brian James and Chris Blight, later o become Newport County chairman, with 24 each. A tour of Plymouth was arranged where Old Suttonians 32-6 and Jesters 27-0 were both beaten with Martin Corne picking up the Man of Tour award. There were debuts for Steve Biddiscombe Alan Pyle,Ian Tutton,Algy Howells,John Langley,Stuart Maclean, Billy May,the Welsh boxer,Peter Faulkner and,Mike Panting. There were notable wins at Hereford 46-0, Aretians(Bristol) 52-0 and Bishopston 42-0. Panting top scored with 140 points including 20 tries followed by Dave Corne with 105 points and Robert Davies 88. Langley scored an impressive four tries against Aretians with Panting scoring hat-tricks against both Bishopston and Royal Agricultural College,Cirencester.

The club began in earnest with twenty one fixtures played, of whch eleven were won, with Panting captaining them in twelve of those fixtures. A pre-season tour to Newton Abbot 0-16 and Teignmouth 12-6 was organised before the club moved on to undertake fixtures with a few local sides including Machen,Caerleon,Risca,Bedwas, Newport Police and Newport Civil Service. Newport Fugitives were played at High Cross on Boxing Day and trips were organised to Cheltenham, Chipp;ing Sodbury and Matson.There were debuts for Alan Jenkins,Peter Durston, David Jeffries,Karl Austen and Alan Evans and Martin Watkins all of whom ould become valuable servants of the club in the years to come Chris.Walden scored the club's first hat-tricks in the 31-4 win over the Fugitives. The club also entered the Newport and District Sevens for the first time but got no further than the first round losing 14-8 to Panteg with two tries from Mark Ruttley.

With the first tour being so successful, a similar event was organised for April of 1974 with new Green jerseys being purchased to celebrate the event. Games were played against Lanner (20-3) Falmouth 2nds(17-8), Illogan Park(0-17) Camborne 2nds(18-26) and Newton Abbot GSOB 20-0. Many of the first tourists returned but there were newcomers in Chris Walden,Bill Morris,Ray Lowe,Ed Parrott,JJEvans,Gary Greenhaf, Phil Lllewellyn,John James,Robert Morgan,Mike Watkins,Michael Collins,David Perks,Brian Barton,John Blackwell, Tony Mogridge, Martin Corne, Ron Howells and Billy Thompson. Clive Jenkins and Tony Mogridge played for the club at Lanner on the Tuesday then travelled home to play for Newport at Gloucester on Wednesday before returning to Cornwall for the remainder of trip. Panting,Perks and Stokes played in four of the five games with Stokes winning the Player of the Tour trophy.

The club began under the name of Bassaleg GSOB- undertaking an Old Students match with the School in April 1973 before undertaking a five match tour to Cornwall and Devon organised by Roger Panting. The team that defeated Falmouth Colt on 17th April by 19-13 was John Evans, Andrew Clements Mark Sheady Roger Panting(Capt) Julian Wilson Brian Hawkins, Robert Morris, Jim Stokes,Mike Dudley,Chris Edwards,Steve Jones, Peter Williams,Brian Johnson,Jeff Tamplin and Steve Marczylo. Morris scored the club's first try. The club went on to defeat Falmouth 2nds 34-12, Illogan Park 16-6 but lost to Reduth Albany 18-13 and Newton Abbot GSOB 6-20. Additional tourists included were Neil Webb, Ron Lewis,Clive Jenkins,Peter Jordan,Steve Phillips,Steve Curnow,Graham Pugh,Mike Morris,Simon Williams,Bryan Williams.