THE Friends of Newport Rugby Trust have donated £20,000 to the Black and Ambers.

The sizeable sum has been raised by the supporters' group this season through membership fees, raffles, bucket collections, the monthly Bullion Draw and a host of other schemes.

FoNR chairman Andrew Hopkins handed over a cheque to Newport team manager and Hall of Famer Mark Workman, who expressed his thanks after a year of change following the sale of Rodney Parade to the Welsh Rugby Union.

"The work of FoNR amazes me," said the ex-lock. "We are so lucky to have such a dedicated group of supporters working so hard every week to raise money to support the team and do all of the unseen but hard work behind the scenes."

The squad will hope to show their appreciation by giving the supporters plenty to cheer in the WRU National Cup final against Merthyr a week on Sunday.

The Black and Ambers prosper most from tickets being bought directly from them with their allocation on sale from next week. Details will be revealed on blackandambers.co.uk