TONY Brown is remaining with Newport and Gwent for the immediate future

He may not be the front man negotiating with Welsh Rugby Union chiefs and he intends taking more of a back seat, as he has said for some time, but he will not be quitting his role with the club or county.

He had informed WRU group chief executive David Moffett that he would no longer be involved with the new Gwent region.

But there has been a change of heart after a meeting of Newport directors yesterday.

Brown will remain fully committed for some time yet, though Rodney Parade president Martin Hazell, a well-known Newport businessman and a tough negotiator, will play more of a role on the Gwent front.

Fellow Newport directors Will Godfrey and Gerry Jones, also well-known businessmen in Gwent, will probably organise and run the Newport squad in the semi-professional Welsh Premier Division.

They already know many of the players they want for the Newport side.

But the rest is up to Brown, who has a number of players not included in the Gwent squad still under contract.

Those include Jason Jones-Hughes, Jonathan Pritchard, Ben Breeze, James Richards and Matthew Veater.

Also under contract are coaches Leigh Jones and Richard Hill.

Brown is committed to honouring those contracts, though Hill is seeking another post in his native England. Jones could well stay on at Rodney Parade and coach the Newport side in the premier division if no position is found for him within the WRU set-up.

But Brown will stay with it. Talk of a split in the Newport ranks or of a power struggle is completely unfounded.