This is a big turnaround from earlier in the season when Maynard had been publicly critical of the 27-year-old following his summer move to Butts Park.

Indeed Carpenter was one of a handful of players involved in a mid-season performance review after the team hit a bad patch. Something clearly worked.

“This last three or four weeks he has really responded and stood up to the plate for us,” Maynard said.

“He is starting to play the way we expected him to when we brought him here.

“It is a difficult step coming into professional rugby at his age and that is something we have had to understand as a club.

“Some of these boys have come through academies and are used to the every day grind of regular training and matches but if you’ve not been in that environment it takes some getting used to and now Aaron has done that.

“And now he has really warmed to the task, he has improved immeasurably as a player and from his point of view that was the object of the exercise.

“We have made him skipper because he seems to be one of those guys people listen to and the key to that is the fact he leads from the front.

“It’s always a good sign when you look for your captain and see he is out in front doing the hard yards.”

A big factor has been the arrival on loan of No 8 Alex Shaw which has allowed the Ontarian to concentrate on a position to which he seems better suited.

Another positive from last weekend’s loss was the return of Nathan Jones.

Although there is no doubt as to his potential the half back has struggled for fitness throughout his career.

But Maynard is hopeful he will be able to call on Jones’ services for the rest of the campaign.

“Nathan had a good 60 minutes having not really taken part all season,” Maynard said. “He gives us a great option, having three good scrum halves is fantastic.”

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