MARCUS RUSSELL has told Newport Gwent Dragons director Martyn Hazell that he only needs to publicly say one sentence and the Welsh Premier Division match on Saturday between Newport and Ebbw Vale will be back on.

But, said Russell, unless Hazell states that Ebbw Vale hold an equal share of the Dragons' representation on the board, his threats to call off fixtures between the Steelmen and the Black and Ambers in the Welsh Premier Division will go ahead.

Russell, as exclusively revealed in yesterday's Argus, will postpone any future matches between Ebbw Vale and Newport as the Dragons' row breaths fresh fire.

Russell said: "We are absolutely, 100 per cent defiant that this game (on Saturday) will not go ahead unless we get a statement from Martyn Hazell to say that Ebbw Vale have got 50 per cent representation. If he says that, the game will be on.

"He has to say that if there are two Newport directors on the (Dragons) board, then there should be two from Ebbw Vale. If there are three from Newport, then there has to be three from Vale - and so on. It is one stage at a time.

"People are saying what has the Newport-Ebbw Vale game got to do with Ebbw Vale's representation on the board?

"Martyn Hazell (with Vale) is being hauled into the Union today and do you think that would have happened if we hadn't said we would call this game off?"

That meeting will be between Welsh Rugby Union chief executive David Moffett, Hazell and Paul Russell, brother of Marcus.

Paul Russell has, claims Marcus, already had a written application to become Ebbw Vale's representative on the Dragons' board, submitted last week, rejected by Hazell who, up until Tuesday, was the sole director of the region.

Hazell refused to comment today before the meeting with Moffett.

Moffett said he and the Union would not be drawn into a public debate on the mess that the Gwent region has found itself in.

And he will wait to discover if the derby clash at Rodney Parade goes ahead on Saturday before thinking about any sanctions the governing body could take against Vale for cancelling the fixture.

Moffett said: "The rules of the WRU are very specific and they would be applied but we need to wait and see if the game is played or not played.

"We are steadfastly resolved not to involve ourselves in a public discussion on this matter and that will continue.

"You can be assured that we are in discussions with the warring parties. We will have these discussions in private but these meetings will take place."

The Dragons now have two directors after office furniture millionaire Tony Brown, Newport's major backer over the past few years, changed his mind and came back on board on Tuesday.