CAKED in mud, dripping with sweat and grinning from ear to ear, the champions gleefully supped champagne. They deserved it.
As the bubbly flowed and the festivities began, it would have been impossible to argue that a big Bournemouth party had not been well earned.
In a season which has seen records shattered and history books rewritten, Lions roared the loudest.
Defeats at the hands of nearest challengers Chinnor and Redingensians remain the only blemishes in a campaign that has been nigh on perfect.
A tally of 23 victories and a monster points haul of 1,228 from 25 contests backs up the fact that Bournemouth have conquered National Three South West with utter dominance.
As the Chapel Gate regulars would happily testify, determination, team spirit and attacking swagger has proved an eye-catching recipe for success.
It was no different on Saturday with the title up for grabs. Pressure, what pressure?
The equation was simple: A bonus-points win – achieved by scoring four or more tries – would give Bournemouth an unassailable lead over Chinnor with a game to spare.
By half-time, the championship silverware was on its way to the engraver, with promotion to the highest level in the club’s history also secured.
Put simply, Weston could not live with Lions.
The visitors were defensively competitive – particularly up front – during the scrappy early skirmishes.
But once the resistance had been broken and Bournemouth had mastered the wet and windy conditions, Weston went the way of many others this term.
“It wasn’t easy and the ball didn’t go to hand in the conditions,” said Bournemouth director of rugby David Dunn. “Give Weston-super-Mare credit where it is due because they came and did their best to spoil the party.
“But there is just too much firepower in this team. If you block one hole against us, then we will open up another one.”
The assessment from Dunn was spot on.
Tests in National Two South will come far more difficult than the one posed by Weston. But if Lions can replicate this type of verve, dynamism and creativity – and marry it with rugged forward play – they will give better opponents a run for their money.
Centre Scott Chislett, who later had to be helped from the field due to a knee injury, put the wheels in motion when he dived on a bobbling ball in the corner. Robbie Searle, deployed at fly-half in place of the unavailable Dan Pollard, set the tone for an accurate kicking display by landing the first of his eight conversions from out wide.
While Dunn was keen not to highlight individual efforts, arguably the game’s two out standing players combined when Lions registered their second try.
Built like a prop but running like a centre, marauding flanker Jack Hennings was proving a ferocious ball carrier. After the 28-year-old had punched a gaping hole in the visiting defence, he produced an audacious offload to send the supporting Sam Hardcastle scampering clear.
The signs were now ominous for Weston and Karim Lynch was next to exhibit his skills, the flying full-back throwing a dummy to his right winger before stepping inside and showing the defence a clean pair of heels.
It was slick stuff from Lions but they demonstrated they also had some old-fashioned ‘up the jumper’ play in their armoury when Tim Seward touched down following a well executed catch-and-drive line-out.
A loud cheer greeted the score and with the bonus point safely in the bank, Bournemouth cut loose.
Boosted by a mighty performance from their back-row, they got the necessary go-forward to pile on the pressure against a tiring Weston side.
A fantastic break by Lynch led to hooker Frazer Wilford getting in on the act before a well-crafted line-out move handed Hardcastle his second score. Wilford threw the ball deep and captain Alan Manning sent his scrum-half clear with a delightful pop pass.
Bournemouth were really getting a taste for the try-line as their bright attacking endeavour lit up a dreary Dorset day. And they continued to rack up the points with a ruthless spell of finishing.
Club stalwart Hardcastle, a lively presence throughout, completed his hat-trick and went past 800 career points for Bournemouth in the process.
Spectators were getting into party mood and they had barely finished applauding their number nine’s treble before replacement Dan Cawley made his mark after Lions had launched an incisive move.
Then, epitomising his swashbuckling display, Hennings got a deserved try when he dished out a fierce hand-off to leave another defender with no answer to his brute force.
Weston, who had barely entered Lions territory during the second-half onslaught, grabbed some consolation when they capitalised on the late sin-binning of Chris Hughes to get a last-minute try through Shaun Eaton.
“My reaction is one of relief and great pride,” said Dunn, speaking amid jubilant scenes moments after the final whistle.
“The players worked really hard for this and they fully deserve the credit. I am very proud.”
The late try was not about to dampen the mood.
As Hennings fetched the cool box and shared the bubbly among Lions’ history-makers, there was no doubt that it was Bournemouth’s day.
It has been Bournemouth’s season.
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