THERE has been a mixed reaction to the departure of Paul Turner as Newport Gwent Dragons head coach after five-and-a-half years, writes Robin Davey.

Jason Forster, Turner’s first captain with the Dragons, praised his commitment.

“I’ve known Paul a long time. He came into the region to take the job which is like a poisoned chalice,” said Forster, a level four RFU coach at Division South West One Chippenham.

“He hasn’t had the best of things whether it’s money or facilities, but he’s tried to develop young players.

“Paul will be a hard act to follow. He was Magners League coach of the year last season after the Dragons played some outstanding rugby.

“He is a proud Gwent man who brought a number of young players on and he’s done that while not competing financially with the other regions.

“It’s been difficult finding that consistency, people have known what the Dragons are about and they haven’t hit the same high spots as last year.

“Paul is a fantastic coach and I’m sure he’ll be an asset wherever he goes, the fans will thank him for what he’s done.”

Fellow back row forward Michael Owen, who played under Turner with the Dragons before joining the Saracens, his career now ended by a serious knee injury, believes he was a bit too negative.

“Paul was there for nearly six years and the Dragons haven’t really progressed a great deal in that time,” he said.

“They have to turn things around so it’s good to have a change of direction. Paul got bogged down a bit in the negativity and sometimes didn’t appreciate what he had.

“Sometimes you’ve got to be positive and accept what you’ve got and try to make the most of it.”

Worcester prop Adam Black, who played under Turner, paid tribute.

“I found him really passionate which is what you need,” he said.

“It’s so frustrating for a coach who sees the potential a team has got but sees others making progress, but you’ve got to let that go and concentrate on the positive rather than the negative.

“Knowing Paul, if he had his time again he wouldn’t have taken the path he did in the last few weeks, but sometimes the passion overrules common sense.

“Sometimes you need to control the emotion and maybe Paul didn’t do that as well as he would have liked.”