BOURNEMOUTH are potentially just one win away from the title and promotion after they defeated Tottonians 42-14 away from home at the weekend.
The result means they stay four points clear of Winchester, who visit Chapel Gate this coming weekend, at the top of Regional Two South Central.
Director of rugby, Will Croker, was pleased with the team’s performance at Tottonians.
“Saturday was a good win, relatively resounding on the scoreboard, but we know that Totts have the ability of scoring one then two quick tries,” he said.
“So even at 14, 17 points clear, we never really felt like they were out of it.
“We are getting more and more accurate. I was amazed to look at the stats after the game and it said that we only had 36 per cent possession, they had 64 per cent.
“They made us make double the number of tackles and they had double the number of rucks that we did.
Head coach Will Croker looks on. (Image: Simon Carlton)
“So it goes to show that sometimes rugby can be easier without the ball.”
Croker was impressed with his forwards’ work up front and said: “We’d identified areas where we felt that we could get stuck into them, especially after long periods of exertion, and we would go for maximum effort.
“We’d go for maximum effort at that moment when they’ve been having to defend for multi-phase and we get the scrum or a maul opportunity.
“Grant [Hancox] kicked the ball beautifully, which of course allowed us to keep the scoreboard ticking over and just kept them at arm’s length, meaning that they had to try to chase a little bit harder.
“I thought we just put a lot of pressure in the right areas, and we were delighted that we were able to come away with the victory.
“As I said beforehand, we lost there last year. It was the last time we lost away from home, and it felt like we needed to get some sort of retribution.”
Grant Hancox (Image: Simon Carlton)
Croker praised hooker Louis Davies, who made his debut off the bench.
“A real young talent and a real great addition to the squad, and he set up a try for James Kennedy,” he said.
“I also thought that our midfield handled their threats really well. Certainly Ben Meaden, Grant, and Jordie [Wayman] were up to pretty much everything that they threw at us in that area.”
Elsewhere, Bournemouth’s second team, the Nomads, defeated Chichester 35-29 at home that keeps them pushing in their quest for a top four finish.