NEWPORT Rugby Club are reforming Newport United, their old second team, after a break of four seasons and already have several matches lined up.

The Black and Ambers' board approved the move yesterday - while the club's senior fixture list was completed with their Welsh League games.

Newport will open their domestic campaign with a home clash against Caerphilly on Tuesday, October 29 before visiting Swansea on the Saturday.

Club director of rugby, Darryl Jones, described the United's reformation as "quite an exciting move and we're looking forward to promoting it."

He added: "It will give valuable match practice to those players on the fringe of the first team or who have been sat on the bench, to players returning from injury and will provide a shop window for our best under-21 players."

Newport plan two United games a month, 16-18 in all during the season. They have already arranged two games each against Harlequins, Bristol and Swansea and one each against Wasps and Gloucester.

A game against Oxford University the week before the Varsity match is planned and the club are negotiating with Worcester, Northampton and Zurich Premiership champions Leicester.

"You could have as many as seven or eight internationals playing in these games," said Jones, who believes they could attract crowds of 1,000.

Meanwhile, four of Newport's opening six league fixtures will be at home, the only six to be completed before February because of Celtic League and European Cup programmes.

Conversely, four of their last six WL games are away, including trips to Bridgend, Cardiff, Pontypridd and Neath, the latter their last game of all on May 24, 2003.

Newport have lost their lucrative Boxing Day home game, but team manager Jim McCreedy believes this is more than compensated for by facing Cardiff at Rodney Parade four days later, on Monday, December 30.

The fixtures are subject to alteration because of television requirements. Newport's under-21 fixtures have not been finalised, but it is expected the team will face the under-21s of whichever side the first team are playing on the same date, only in reverse.