NEWPORT and Cardiff clash for the 395th time tomorrow night at Rodney Parade in a match neither side can afford to lose.

Newport captain Simon Raiwalui calls it 'do-or-die' while Cardiff coach Rudy Joubert says his side have to win.

Whichever team fails to make it will be out of the title race after Newport slipped up badly with defeats against Neath and Swansea last week and Cardiff went down heavily in Edinburgh.

"We have trained very hard this week and it's do-or-die for us," said Raiwalui. "We've come together and we've got to perform, we've got to get out there and get stuck in.

"It's a massive one and we have to perform for our confidence as well as show the hunger and the desire to be in the race.

"The most disappointing thing about losing to Cardiff last time was they were there for the taking, but we didn't take our opportunities.

"The manner of the defeat against Neath was a concern and we were never in the game against Swansea.

"I don't know what it is, but we seemed to go away from the basics, we haven't stuck to the game plan and play to our full capabilities.

"We have worked on what went wrong last week. The key is to get the basics right, and if we do we're halfway there.

"We've worked hard on getting back to our game plan, there had been a hunger and we've got to take that on to the field.

"To lose out now would be a huge disappointment to everyone from the top to the bottom, including the staff.

"We just want to go out and perform and take our chances. We're looking forward to the battle."

The task is pretty plain as Joubert sees it. "We've got five games in 15 days and we've got to win them all," he said.

"If we do we win the league, nobody can stop us. But we need to win at least one to make sure we qualify for Europe next season. Naturally we want the first.

"If we do lose against Newport the title is not out of the question, but it will be pretty much in other hands."

Joubert still feels Llanelli will edge the title race. "It's very close between all four teams, but I'd say Llanelli are probably just ahead," he said.

Cardiff chief executive Robert Norster admits there will have to be tighter budgets next season after the decision against an elite six clubs, though he has still not ruled out changes.

"We will have to operate with sensible budget limits which will make things difficult with English clubs showing interest in senior or younger players," he said.

"I'm still hopeful. There was a significant feeling for change at the last meeting, we just failed to agree on the methods.

"Perhaps something can be done because we haven't got a lot of time."