AS WALES attack coach you’d expect Rob Howley to be looking forward to seeing his three-quarters in full flight but instead it is the destructive ability of two top quality back rows that is whetting his appetite. It promises to be an uncompromising
PLANS to improve traffic congestion in Maesycwmmer, near Blackwood, will be unveiled at an information evening next week. Work on a major highway improvement scheme at the signal control junction on the A472, could begin later this year, and
Neath 15 Cross Keys 10 CROSS Keys tonight just missed out on gaining a rare win over Neath at The Gnoll to replace the Blacks at the top. Keys, who had beaten Neath in the British & Irish Cup only to lose the league rematch, had first use
Swansea 43 Pontypool 11 IT was an evening to forget for Pooler at St Helen’s as they crashed to a six tries to one Welsh Premiership defeat to Swansea. After a minute’s silence to mark the death of Swansea legend Mervyn Davies it was almost
A NEWPORT to Ebbw Vale rail link would throw open opportunity to some of Wales’ most deprived communities, the city council leaders claim. Council leader Matthew Evans said connectivity was central to Welsh economic renewal and would be ideally
TRIBUTES flooded in for Wales’ 1976 Grand Slam captain Mervyn Davies yesterday after the legendary number eight’s death at the age of 65 was announced. Davies won two Grand Slams with Wales and played in all eight Test matches during the Lions’ series
BURGLARS have struck at 14 homes in and around Blackwood in recent weeks. Since the beginning of February, thieves have stolen cash, credit cards, jewellery, electrical items and a car after the keys were taken from inside a property.
PUPILS at a Gwent school put their teachers through their paces as part of an healthy initiative. Penygarn Community Primary School held its own healthy school week last week, with teaching staff swapping their classrooms for the treadmill on
A NEW schools library which loans books to schools and nurseries in Monmouthshire and Torfaen has opened in Pontypool. The Schools Literacy and Resource Centre loans a range of multimedia resources to teachers, including books to support the
THE future of an Abergavenny theatre is secure after Monmouthshire council agreed to ringfence more than £150,000 a year towards its running costs for the next three years. The council agreed to transfer the management of the Borough Theatre
DO YOU know someone who is community-minded, public-spirited and hard-working? The Argus has joined forces with Gwent Police for the Gwent Active Citizen Award, aimed at recognising members of the public who play an active role in the community
A MAN accused of murdering a Newport father admitted lying to police, a court heard yesterday. Shahid Rafiq, 37, of Bryn Yr Ysgol, Karl Drummond, 37, of Attlee Court, and George Glover, 40, of Graham Court, all Caerphilly, are on trial at Cardiff
FARMERS in Caerphilly borough are being asked to be vigilant following a spate of burglaries. Rural properties across the area have been targeted in the past six weeks, so Gwent Police are asking farm owners and smallholders to take some steps
Imagining what minor characters in great plays get up to offstage was elevated by Tom Stoppard to high art with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, his comic drama about two courtiers in Shakespeare's Hamlet. In this festival of new one-act plays
The Blood Brothers musical has been running in the West End and around the country for so many years now, it is easy to forget that it actually started life as a play by Willy Russell. So it is interesting to see the original being performed once again
IT is understood Wales players will hit a jackpot of £2m if they win the Grand Slam and WRU chairman David Pickering says a bonus would be “a deserved reward” should they be successful. But the WRU are remaining tightlipped about reports some players
THE late, great Jacques Fouroux was the epitome of the scrum-half as tactical genius, leading France to just their second Grand Slam in 1977. After a disappointing draw to Ireland and a disastrous defeat to England, Les Bleus turn to another
LOCAL councillors described it as “a black day for Blackwood” after plans for a new supermarket that would have created hundreds of jobs were rejected by planners. Retailer Morrisons was earmarked to open a store at the empty Blackwood Gate Retail
STARRING Kate O’Mara and a cast of other respected actors, Agatha Christie’s perennial favourite Murder On The Nile comes to Cardiff’s New Theatre next month. Presented by the official Agatha Christie Theatre Company, Dynasty’s O’Mara is joined
HIGHLY rated Australian indie rock band The Temper Trap make their way to Cardiff’s Coal Exchange in May for a special one-off gig. The group made a name form themselves in 2009 with successful album Condition and their single Sweet Disposition
SINGER-SONGWRITER and guitarist Matt Cardle who rose to fame after winning 2010’s The X Factor comes to Cardiff’s St David’s Hall next week. He received a £1 million recording contract with Syco Music after winning the seventh series of the show
A FIRE service training exercise is being carried out in Newport today. South Wales Fire and Rescue Service is currently at flats in Gaer Road training in case of the event of a fire in a block of flats.
A CWMBRAN bowling alley, which closed last week after the site was repossessed, will reopen today. Bowlplex Limited was temporarily closed to the public on March 5 following a disagreement with its landlord Mintblue (Cwmbran) Limited. But yesterday
First Minister of Wales Carwyn Jones has paid tribute to Mervyn Davies who has died. He said: "Sometimes the word legend is overused, but when it comes to Mervyn Davies it was true. "He was a giant of the game who led Wales to the 1976 Grand
REGARDING the letter this week expressing disappointment at the lack of national and international news coverage in the Argus, I must disagree. The Argus is a local newspaper and I don’t believe it suffers by not rehashing the stories easily
I WOULD like to thank Graham Osborne for his reply regarding ‘The legend of the so-called Risca Cuckoo.’ So there is no historical evidence to prove that the people of Risca tried to fence in a cuckoo? And the story is all based on hearsay passed
THE Rogerstone Labour campaign team say they are annoyed at shops continually closing in Newport – aren’t we all? Can I remind them this has been happening for the last ten years at least and at a time they were in power. They closed the InShops
I AM one of the organisers of the International Women’s day 2012 event in Newport that took place on March 8. I am very pleased that we did get coverage in the South Wales Argus on the evening Friday, March 9, 2012. However, I want to take this
FIRST Minister of Wales Carwyn Jones has sent a message of good luck to the Welsh rugby team ahead of their Grand Slam clash against France this weekend. The First Minister said: "I want to say good luck to the boys for the game this Saturday
HOW I do agree with Mike Buckingham about the lights. In the pre-neon age, I could stand outside my house and look up into the Milky Way and really feel the depth and wonder of it. As one who still believes in God, seeing the heavens with no interference
AFGHANISTAN – it’s a tricky one, isn’t it? It appears there are four good reasons why our soldiers are still there: One – in support of our gallant American allies – ah, but isn’t Saint Obama busily pulling out his troops? Two – we are bolstering
WHAT a fantastic day tomorrow promises to be for Gwent sports fans. Even people who do not normally follow sport may well be interested if not excited by the outcome of tomorrow’s two big matches. Tomorrow Wales take on France at the Millennium
RADIO presenter Roy Noble proved he was not afraid of the dark by completing a mile underground at Blaenavon’s Big Pit for charity. Kitted out in a miner’s uniform, the BBC Radio Wales host was lowered 90 metres down the heritage site’s mine
NEWPORT politicians welcomed the news that 40 jobs would be coming to Newport with the opening of a Welsh Water laboratory in the city. Newport council leader councillor Matthew Evans said the move was extremely good newsfor the city and the workforce
FRANCE have called for the big guns for their trip to Cardiff – meaning flanker Dan Lydiate will once again have to prove he is top of the chops. The 24-year-old Newport Gwent Dragons blindside has become an expert at the chop tackle – where the target
NEWPORT band Screaming Martini and a Pontypool singer are among those preparing to battle it out for a place in the final of the UK’s largest music competition for unsigned artists. Screaming Martini are hoping to impress Live and Unsigned 2012
ROWAN Williams is to step down after 10 years as Archbishop of Canterbury to take up a new post as Master of Magdalene College, Cambridge. Dr Williams, 61, will leave at the end of December in time to start his new role next January. Lambeth Palace
WALES' 1976 Grand Slam captain Mervyn Davies has died, the Welsh Rugby Union said today. He was 65. The former London Welsh and Swansea number eight won 38 caps and toured with the British and Irish Lions to New Zealand in 1971 and South Africa three
THE Welsh language was celebrated in Pontypool yesterday when more than 500 children took part in a local eisteddfod. Pontypool Community Council organised the interschools eisteddfod which was held over three days at Pontypool Active Living
WITHIN hours of telling Argus readers about rugby legend Bobby Windsor’s search for love, three people got in touch. We reported yesterday how the 66-year-old is looking for someone to share his life with on the island of Mallorca. One woman e-mailed
WALES ace Jonathan Davies reveals he wants to win the Grand Slam for close friend Rhys Thomas, the former Newport Gwent Dragons favourite who suffered a heart scare in January. Centre Davies said he and many of the Wales team will have the
WALES rugby legend Mervyn Davies has died at the age of 65 after battling cancer. 'Merv the Swerve' was part of the Wales side that clicnched the Grand Slam in 1976. Gaining 38 Wales caps, he played in two winning British and Irish Lions
GWENT’S coroner said yesterday he hoped the death of a Newport toddler strangled by a window blind cord would serve as a warning to all parents. The inquest into the death of 22-month-old Joshua Wakeham was held in Newport where Gwent coroner
George Osborne is putting the finishing touches to his Budget amid claims he is prepared to cut the 50p top rate of tax.Downing Street insisted the claims that the levy on earners over £150,000 would be reduced to 40p were "speculation" but government
WEALDSTONE V COUNTY (FA Trophy semi-final second leg, tomorrow KO 3pm) NEWPORT County boss Justin Edinburgh is a five-time veteran at Wembley and has warned his players that they’ll never forgive themselves if they blow their chance to play at the home
SEVEN hundred people signed a petition calling for a 100-year-old valleys church to be saved from closure. As previously reported, Christchurch in Aberbeeg, faces being declared redundant, after it shut its doors in November due to dwindling
NEWPORT Gwent Dragons head coach Darren Edwards hailed his side’s spirit after they dug deep for derby victory against Cardiff Blues at Rodney Parade. Tonderai Chavhanga’s stunning 72nd-minute try tipped the RaboDirect Pro12 encounter in the Dragons’
WEALDSTONE V COUNTY (FA Trophy semi-final, second leg, tomorrow KO 3pm) NEWPORT County striker Elliott Buchanan goes into tomorrow’s FA Trophy semi-final second leg against Wealdstone motivated by the chance to make history. The 22-year-old scored his
BE prepared for the roof of Cheltenham’s main stand to come off should wonder horse Kauto Star cross the Gold Cup finishing line in pole position. The French bred has been a horse of a lifetime for his owner Clive Smith and, aged 12, it is remarkable
