Quote: Exeter Rhino "Good to see some positivity on here for a change.
Arthur is making lots of encouraging comments, but he's also made it clear we can't expect miracles. Anyway, let's see how he goes after 10 games - and where he goes next.
Part of Smith's problem was the raised expectations many of us had of him. The guy did do some impressive stuff here. We did not make the GF by being 'soft'. Beating Wigan away was no easy job, and that team absorbed tons of pressure and physical attrition from Wigan and still found a way to win.
Just before our current season imploded, the way we played in that first game against Saints had lots of people on this forum excited, and many agreed it was the best rugby we had produced in years. I don't think I've seen Newman run as hard and look as dangerous ever since (not to mention several others). I suspect that psychologically the players put so much into that game that to not come away with anything dealt crippling blows to a lot of confidences. Ultimately we weren't able to play at that tempo with high skill as Smith wanted, and the experiment failed...'"
Genuinely curious to see what Arthur can get out of the forwards (who are now missing three middles) on Saturday and for the rest of the year. Worth remembering that we were getting beaten in the pack for a long, long time before Smith's arrival, and his inititially successful approach was born out the need to work around that weakness. Just hoping there is the same level of positivity around the coach at five on Saturday, because I think we're really up against it.
