The Black and Ambers gained their fourth consecutive win of the season, but had to pull out all the stops to beat a combative Llandovery at Church Bank.

"We had no illusions about the difficulty of our task," said Newport coach Dai Rees.

"I have been up to Llandovery too many times in the past to take anything for granted, and am more than satisfied to come away with the narrowest of wins.

"It could make a vital difference at the end of the season, as I believe there to be five or six genuine candidates for the title this year," said Rees, who is being tipped as the man to coach the reformed Wales seven-a-side team for next year's Commonwealth Games.

Rees pinpointed Neath, Pontypridd, Bridgend, Aberavon and Cross Keys, as well as Newport, to be potential Principality winners, and even thought Swansea would recover to offer a threat.

That said, Rees is yet to see his side produce the goods for any length of time.

"We play in patches, as we saw against Llandovery, when we let them slip away into a 19-10 lead, came back to dominate the first part of the second half, then allowed them to rally well in the last quarter.

"If we are to finish top, we will need far more consistency," concluded Rees.

Llandovery matched Newport in all areas with one exception - the lineout, where Matthew Veater had a great game, securing his own ball and pinching the home throw at vital times and positions.

Another key forward in the Newport effort was No 8 Rhys Jones. His strong runs from the base of the scrum often dented the first line of defence, and Jones was his usual effective tackler and coverer at key times.

Drovers fly-half Tomas Marks kicked four first-half penalties and the conversion of an opportunist try by wing Owain Rowlands to reward the effort of his pack.

Newport hung on with a try from flanker Sam Waldron after a rolling maul which covered 50 metres, and five points from fly-half Dan Griffiths to go in 19-10 down.

A break by centre Richard Payne, supported by Waldron, sent hooker Rhys James crashing under the posts right at the start of the second half, and with Griffiths adding the conversion and two penalties, Newport looked ready to pull clear at 23-19.

Not a bit of it as the Drovers hit back bravely, two more penalties from Marks shading another by Griffiths to set up a hectic finale.

With the last kick of the game replacement centre Peter Smiriglia had the chance to snatch the game for Llandovery, only to see his ambitious attempt from 50 metres drop short.

LLANDOVERY: Andrew Williams, I Evans, M Bowen, G Beaumont-Morgan (rep P Smiriglia 69'), O Rowlands: T Marks, I Mainwaring (rep R Walters 55'); D Thomas (rep Aled Williams 55'), A Yelland, A Jones, A Davies (capt), J Ciaburro (rep G Davies 69'), P Davies, G Bennett (rep E Gwynne 53'), M Davies (rep C Davies 69'). Scorers: Try: O Rowlands, Con: T Marks, Pens: T Marks (6).

NEWPORT: J Rowles (rep R Williams 60'), G Chapman, R Shorney (capt), R Payne, W Kershaw-Naylor, D Griffiths, M Thomas (rep G Crothers 62'), D Pattison, R James (rep G Robinson 62'), G McCarthy (rep P Osborne 55'), N Watkins (rep M Workman 55'), M Veater, S Waldron, R Jones, P Williams (rep M Popham 69'). Scorers: Tries: S Waldron, R James; Cons: D Griffiths (2); Pens: D Griffiths (4). Referee: Huw David (Bridgend). Attendance: 450.