Will Croker could not hide his delight as battling Bournemouth displayed their nasty side against Lydney – even if it did cover up a few imperfections.

Lions roared back from an early deficit to see off promotion-chasing Lydney 14-5 in tricky conditions at Chapel Gate courtesy of Duncan Soden’s effort, a penalty try and two Grant Hancox conversions.

The hosts had to survive spells in the sin bin for Joes Rees, Hancox and Rudi Kochanowski as well as a skirmish as tempers flared towards the end but still sealed the spoils, much to the delight of their head coach.

Croker told the Daily Echo: “To be honest, we had a poor start and looked a bit dysfunctional but then got the ascendency in the scrum.

“When Joe Rees got yellow carded, we started to push them back, even with seven men in there and that gave us a real psychological boost. From that moment, we looked physically dominant.

“Occasionally, individual errors let us down but in the conditions – it was very blowy and we had to deal with a sticky, horrible pitch – the boys really fronted up.

“For a team that regularly gets accused of being too nice, it was nice to see us stand up and not take a backwards step.”

On the late drama, Croker added: “It started to get a bit niggly in the final 15 minutes and boiled over. There was a cheap shot on Joe Tarrant towards the end which one or two of our lads took exception to.

“You never condone scrapping on the pitch but it was good to see that when one of their own had been wronged, they all jumped too his defence. It showed a real unity among the players.”

n Bournemouth's second XV won 27-9 against Blandford in Dorset & Wilts One South on a day that saw each of the club's four senior sides win.

Croker said: “To have success across the board like that is a testament to the depth of quality we have at the club. Everyone involved should be very proud.”

Meanwhile, Dorset Dockers saw their Southern Counties South clash with Marlborough washed out.