In the present day, Rodney Parade is home to the Dragons and has unfortunately become a place where opposition sides more often than not emerge victorious.
But if you jumped in a time machine and went back 20 years, you would find yourself in an era where nobody relished a trip to Rodney Parade.
The turn of the century, just before the advent of regional rugby, was a great time to be involved with Newport RFC.
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Then-chairman Tony Brown, who sadly died just a matter of weeks ago, set out to turn the Black & Ambers into a genuine force in European rugby.
Brown attracted a plethora of top-class overseas signings like Springboks legends Gary Teichmann and Percy Montgomery, along with former All Blacks scrum-half Ofisa Tonu and Canada prop Rod Snow..
But arguably his most influential recruit was Fijian lock Simon Raiwalui, who earned cult-hero status during his four years at Rodney Parade where he went on to captain the side even captaining them.
"I moved up to play in Europe in 1997 to play for Sale for the first two years," he tells WalesOnline, from his home in Fiji. "I was coming to the end of my contract, and one of my best mates Shane Howarth had joined Newport so that was a big factor in me joining.
"Tony Brown has just come in as a benefactor, and he wanted to move the club in a new direction with some big foreign signings. I came down to Newport to have a look and straight away I could tell it was a rugby town. Rodney Parade smells of rugby tradition."
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Rodney Parade back then was world' apart from what it is now, with big crowds flocking in on a regular basis, while Newport for a time were the best-supported club in Wales.
But with the investment from Brown, along with their aggressive recruitment policy, came added pressure. Many sides resented the buying power of Newport at the time, and were keen to bring them down a peg or two.
Raiwalui looks back at his time in Wales with real fondness, and recalls many ferocious encounters against their Welsh rivals.
"My first game away from home was at Pontypridd," he said. "That game stood out because the crowd were chanting 'what a waste of money' for 80 minutes. Due to the fact we had signed a lot of high-profile overseas players a lot of clubs wanted to take us down a peg or two.
"Then you got to go to some real fantastic places which were the real bedrock of Welsh rugby like Ebbw Vale, Cross Keys and Aberavon. It was a great experience but very intimidating going to some of those places.
"There was a real tribalism about Welsh rugby back then. It's what made Welsh rugby strong, no matter who you played against they were all very hard matches.
"Wales was similar to when I was in France with regards the tribalism between the towns, the rich history, and what it meant to everyone. The European Cup games against Bath were great as well but I really enjoyed the derbies against Cardiff. The opposition supporters used to love giving it to us.
"We played a Welsh Cup game against Aberavon which got really tasty. They got stuck into us, and there were a couple of scraps. I found the Gnoll a really tough place to play. Neath played an uncompromising brand of rugby, and the supporters got on top of us."
Despite the formidable squad which had been put together, Newport only had one trophy to show for it after beating Neath at the Millennium Stadium to win the Welsh Cup.
Raiwalui achieved a great deal during his career, playing for the likes of Saracens and Racing 92, but he insists that particular day was up there with his best moments.
"Winning the Welsh Cup at the Millennium Stadium against Neath is undoubtedly my favourite memory of Newport, and one of the best moments of my entire career," he said.
"That was an unbelievable moment, and it was great reward for Tony Brown as well, who had invested so much into the club and cared deeply for every single player.
"Rodney Parade when it was packed had an unbelievable crowd. I loved running out onto the pitch when they were playing 'who let the dogs out'.
"There was a game against Leinster when we were on fire and winning but then the lights went out because of an electricity cut. When the lights eventually came back on we had lost all momentum, and ended up losing."
These days many players treat rugby as a job but are perhaps not as invested in the community their particular club represents. But Raiwalui lived and breathed Newport rugby during his four years in Wales, even living next door to Rodney Parade at one time.
"I lived in Basseleg Road in Newport," he said. "We also lived in the old house opposite the back gate of Rodney Parade. We had a rivalry with Cardiff so I didn't want to live there!
"I loved the club and it still means a great deal to me. The greatest thing about playing for Newport was the investment the town had in the team.
"I recently went to visit Semi Radradra at Bristol and decided to go and visit Newport. Even all these years later people were still coming up to talk to me as I walked around town."
Unfortunately all good things must come to an end, and Raiwalui was forced to leave the club he loved so dearly when Welsh rugby decided to rip up the old club system. Newport were about to become the Newport Gwent Dragons, and much to his frustration, there was to be no place for him in the regional game.
"I was captain at the time, my family were happy in Newport, and my son even got born at the Gwent," he said.
"Welsh rugby went regional that year. The guys who were in contract were kept, but the overseas guys who were out of contract were moved on. I understand what they were doing and what they were trying to achieve but I was unhappy to leave. I wanted to stay because I loved the club and the city so much as did my family.
"I know Newport still play in the Welsh Premiership but I miss Newport not playing in the European Cup. I wish they were back playing at the sort of level. I follow the Dragons and I want them to win but it's still not Newport. When I played we were Newport, the Black & Ambers.
"It's been an interesting period for Welsh rugby, and hopefully they can get things back on track because they are such a proud nation. I'm biased so I'd like them to be called Newport. The history of the club is what was sold to me when I was thinking of joining."
To his credit, 48-year-old Raiwalui hasn't done badly since leaving Wales, establishing himself as a well-respected coach having enjoyed successful stints with Stade Francais, Racing 92 and Australia.
Somewhat ironically, Raiwalui's next focus will be to bring down Wales at the upcoming Rugby World Cup as head coach of Fiji, who infamously knocked Gareth Jenkins' Welsh side out of the 2007 tournament.
Fiji kick off the tournament with a mouth-watering clash against Wales in Bordeaux on September 10 before facing Australia, Georgia and Portugal, and Raiwalui is confident they will more than hold their own in France.
"I was general manager of high performance with Fiji," he said. "There was a change in coaches recently so they asked me to apply, and I got selected as head coach.
"This is an interesting period for Fijian rugby. It's good to be back home in Fiji.
"We've had very similar pools for the last few World Cups so we know what's coming. We've got an interesting history with Wales, and there have been some classic matches between both sides.
"The thing that was missing from our pathway was a team after the U20s so getting the Fijian Drua into Super Rugby is massive. It gives more Fijian players the opportunity to play pro rugby, and allows us to get some cohesion. It's a real growth period for us.
"I'm very respectful of Wales. I know they've been going through a tough period but they've got some very good players, and Warren Gatland is a world-class coach. But we'll be ready for them and I'm confident we can do well."
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