THE PITCH at Rodney Parade has earned the praise of Newport County's opponents a year after the Exiles were suffering postponement hell, writes Chris Kirwan.

The surface gets scored after every game by the referee and visiting managers and Rodney Parade is currently above the League Two average.

It is a remarkable turnaround given that a cruel winter of 2013/14 saw five County fixtures fall victim to the weather along with Newport Gwent Dragons' Pro12 encounter with Edinburgh and Newport RFC' derby against Cross Keys.

Summer drainage work has paid dividends much to the delight of Rodney Parade head of operations Mark Jones.

"It's great that the hard work of the ground staff has been recognised and after last year it is a real positive for us," he said.

"It's a real achievement for us to be marked above grounds that are only used for football given that we have three teams playing on the pitch."

The pitch is in perfect condition for the Dragons' European Rugby Challenge Cup encounter with Stade Francais.

It was covered as a precaution following Newport RFC's clash with Carmarthen Quins last weekend because the fines for failing to fulfil a European tie are severe.

The Dragons have twice had to move games away from Rodney Parade – in 2009 when they played Biarritz at Parc y Scarlets and in 2010 when they played Wasps at Cardiff City Stadium – and they now have the 3G surface at their training base in Ystrad Mynach as their back-up option.

That, however, won't be needed this season.