THE oldest cliché in the book for rugby union writers is that ‘you never know which French team will turn up’ and Newport County AFC are rivalling the cheese-eating surrender monkeys for inconsistency at the moment.

There will be plenty of rugby fans in these parts hoping that France can rediscover their joie de vivre and deny England a Six Nations Grand Slam this coming Saturday.

While County supporters will be hoping their side can buck the recent trend in their form by earning another three points at home to Hartlepool United this evening.

Over recent weeks it’s been a case of terrible Tuesdays followed by super Saturdays for Warren Feeney’s men.

A fine 1-0 home win over Mansfield Town was followed by a dismal defeat at Crawley Town.

The Exiles bounced back by beating Wycombe Wanderers but were then humiliated 3-0 at home by Barnet last Tuesday.

And again they came up with a remarkable response with Saturday’s spectacular 3-0 win at Portsmouth.

County are now unbeaten in their last eight games played on a Saturday – winning six and drawing two.

By contrast they haven’t won on a Tuesday or any other day of the week since the 4-1 thumping of Brackley Town in November – a run of five defeats and a draw.

In fact they’ve only won one other Tuesday night game this season – a fabulous 2-0 victory at Wycombe under John Sheridan in October.

The midweek misery under Terry Butcher saw County lose at Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Capital One Cup and at Hartlepool in the league in August.

And in September Butcher’s babes were beaten on penalties by Swindon Town in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy before that final fateful drubbing by Crawley that resulted in the manager’s sacking.

Under Sheridan they were unbeaten on Tuesdays with the wins over Wycombe and Brackley and a creditable 1-1 draw at Oxford United but he did lose his final game – on Monday, December 28 – at home to Plymouth Argyle.

Since Feeney took charge in January his side have been beaten by Blackburn Rovers in the FA Cup on a Monday and lost 1-0 at Leyton Orient on a Tuesday as well as the two recent defeats.

It’s a bizarre phenomenon that also seems to affect near neighbours Cardiff City in the Championship.

Of the 11 matches not played on the traditional Saturday this season, the Bluebirds have managed just two wins – drawing three games and losing six of them.

Floodlights seem to be acting like Kryptonite and sapping the powers of the South Wales sides.

It’s another of those hoodoos that Feeney says he doesn’t believe in and he’ll be desperate for a win tonight – if only to stop us asking him about it when he speaks to the media.

But if we put the frustrating inconsistency of the past few weeks to one side and look at the bigger picture since Feeney took charge it is hard to be anything but positive.

Today marks two months since the former Northern Irish international replaced Sheridan in the hot seat and his overall record is highly impressive.

In 11 League Two matches his side have earned six wins and two draws and lost just three times.

That compares to just one win, two draws and seven defeats for Butcher and three wins, six draws and five defeats for Sheridan.

Looking a little deeper at the stats, courtesy of County season ticket holder and FIFA 2016 talent scout Martyn Phillips, shows that Feeney and his new assistant Andy Todd have given the side much more cutting edge since they took over.

After Saturday’s win, Feeney’s Exiles are now up to 1.81 points per game – compared to 1.07 under Sheridan and just 0.5 during Butcher’s reign.

And Phillips’ research shows that Feeney has got the side taking more shots than their opponents, having the better share of shots on target and a much higher save percentage from the goalkeepers.

The manager won’t admit it yet but County are pretty much guaranteed a fourth season in the Football League having opened up a 13-point cushion over the bottom two.

And the numbers prove that he has got the side moving in the right direction.

As Pompey manager Paul Cook said after his side were thumped by County on Saturday, there are very few consistent sides at this level.

"We're a League Two team with League Two players,” said Cook. “I'm a League Two manager and, with that, you get inconsistencies. We've offered too many this season in my opinion to be promoted automatically.”

It looks like the South Coast giants may have to settle for the play-offs this season – a situation that would satisfy fans of most other teams.

And on current evidence I might even be persuaded to wager 50p, or maybe even a full pound, on the Exiles challenging for a top-seven place this time next year if Feeney is still at the helm.