AN EXHIBITION celebrating 140 years of the Black and Ambers opens at Newport Museum and Art Gallery on Saturday, writes Chris Kirwan.

The Friend of Newport Rugby Trust have been working in partnership with the museum to mark the illustrious history of a club that was formed in 1874.

The exhibition will run until Saturday, April 16 and will take visitors through some of their most famous moments, such as wins against the touring All Blacks, South Africa (twice), and Australia, and give an insight into the careers of some of the great players who have played at Rodney Parade.

"It's been a big project that has been in the making for a while and we are all very excited about seeing it open," said John Barrett, FoNR history officer.

"The aim is to showcase the ups and downs of the famous Black and Ambers, beginning from the start at the Marshes, which is now Shaftesbury Park, all the way to the modern day at Rodney Parade.

"There will be nine story boards, including various aspects of the club like the invincible seasons, our internationals and famous players, and there will be a lot of artefacts.

"Former players and administrators have been interviewed and there are audio and visual exhibits, including some old film of the 1952 Springboks tour that not only shows footage from the ground but the railway station as well.

"I would like to think that the exhibition will be of interest to everybody and not just rugby supporters. Hopefully a lot of people will visit, especially in a World Cup year, and maybe they will head down to Rodney Parade as well.

"It's been a great project to be involved with and we have all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves – although the 250-word limit for each piece was challenging because we could have written thousands and included so much more."

The bilingual exhibition is free and the museum, in John Frost Square, is open from Tuesday to Saturday.