NEWPORT are facing problems in the back three ahead of tomorrow’s clash with Pontypridd at Rodney Parade (kick off 7.15pm).

Full back Paul Jones and winger Mike Poole are both ruled out with shoulder and calf injuries, respectively.

Summer arrival Jones is likely to be out for a month with a small fracture he picked up at Glamorgan Wanderers a fortnight ago while the damage to Poole, top try scorer with six, is not yet clear.

The Black and Ambers do have options on the flanks in the shape of Matthew Pizey, Nathan Williams, an unused replacement in last weekend’s disappointing home loss to Llanelli, and Steve Taylor, but 15 may be a problem.

Jason Tovey is likely to be available despite featuring for the Dragons Under-20s in Narbeth last night, but it has been a hectic few weeks for the 19-year-old – tomorrow would be his fifth game in 14 days.

“The injuries are a shame, because Paul and Mike have been part of a back three that had really been firing,” said head coach Sven Cronk.

“Mike has been trying to tell us that he can play because that is the sort of committed bloke he is, but I think that is unlikely and the biggest worry for us is a specialist 15.

“But it gives opportunities for new players to come in and stake a claim, and we have always said that it is a squad game.”

Newport have, however, been boosted by the return of livewire scrum half Tom Isaacs, who will start after kicking his heels on the touchlines at the weekend because he was on Dragons duty against Wasps the following day.

The Rodney Parade faithful will be looking for their side to come firing back after Saturday’s disappointment against Llanelli.

The Black and Ambers were nowhere near their best and Cronk realises they cannot afford a repeat against in-form Ponty.

He said: “I looked at the video of the Llanelli game, which I didn’t let out of my sight for 48 hours, and the main disappointment was that they slowed the ball down at every ruck, but we didn’t do anything about it – nobody sorted that situation out on the pitch.

“We made some basic errors, like our half-backs (Andrew Quick and Dan Griffiths) kicking straight into touch to cost us field position at crucial times.

“Those players are as disappointed as anyone, but that wasn’t the main reason we lost, it was more to do with the breakdown.

“I’m sure the players won’t repeat that against Pontypridd and we will need to be on top of our game – Ponty haven’t changed much over the years and they will get stuck in.

“It’s not a case of panicking because of one bad result and we are still at the top end of the table.

“We are a new unit with a lot of players who arrived in the summer and a whole new coaching structure. We have been playing some of our best rugby since the Premiership started and it’s just a case of getting back to what we were doing well.”