BOURNEMOUTH travel to a wounded Petersfield who will look to bounce back from three consecutive defeats against the Lions.

Director of rugby at Bournemouth, Will Croker, said their hosts’ poor form is ‘a bit of a shock’ but that they remain a force that the Lions will need to be wary of.

“They've got a core of guys that have moved to the club from Worthing, playing in National Two and they've come in and created a spine of a team that last year went through the league undefeated and I genuinely thought that they would be right up there at the end of the season,” Croker said.

“I still think they can be.

“We've got to make sure that we go there with absolutely no complacency whatsoever because that's they're a good team with a big crowd that will be cheering them on.”

Petersfield have picked up try and losing bonus points in each of their defeats, emphasising that they are a good side.

On Bournemouth and their preparation, Croker said: “We feel really confident in what we delivered, following on from our North Dorset victory, we've tried to keep the team pretty much the same as we had it.

(Image: Simon Carlton) “A couple of enforced changes, Ben Kimber drops out but Joe Rees comes back in.

“We've brought Euan Tremlett back to the bench because of his lineout prowess and we brought Ben Salisbury back onto the bench just because of his versatility.”

Croker said his side has trained well since their demolition of North Dorset two weeks ago, focusing on both mental and physical training.

“We're feeling good but it's going to be a difficult battle,” he said.

“We're expecting there to be a sting in their tail and certainly you never want to go and play against a wounded creature. They always come out and fight for their lives. So, we've got to be ready for that.

“We've got to absorb that, let them throw their punches and then we've got to counteract that with cool minds and a game plan designed hopefully to get the best out of us.”

Bournemouth’s second side host Ellingham and Ringwood in a derby clash, with their visitors having a host of former Bournemouth players.

“It's always a clutch game,” Croker said. “Our second team have been performing well for large parts of the game, but not quite having the ruthlessness to see them through.

“We're hopeful that this week with a very strong team that we can, we can go one step closer than we did against Gosport and Fareham last time out.

Bournemouth’s third team face Poole at home as they aim to continue their good form.