LIONS chief David Dunn is backing his team to capitalise on a favourable-looking run-in to dodge the dreaded drop in National Two South.

Dunn insists Bournemouth will haul themselves clear of danger by out-performing their rivals during the season’s closing weeks.

Lions, who visit sixth-placed Launceston tomorrow, lie in 12th position and just three points above a place in the division’s relegation zone.

However, Dunn thinks his men can make the most of their remaining fixtures.

Lions are set to face lowly Lydney, Barking and Taunton as well as mid-table outfits Canterbury and Dings, with their fellow strugglers due to lock horns with some more high-flying opponents.

Director of rugby Dunn told the Daily Echo: “Every point is vital but if you look at our run-in compared with the other teams at the bottom, we have got the hard bit out of the way.

“We have the easiest run-in of the teams at the bottom and I think we have got to be confident that we can pick up more points than our rivals.”

Lions broke a number of records on their way to securing promotion during an exceptional season last time round.

But Dunn admits the Chapel Gate outfit have found life tough in English rugby’s fourth tier.

He said: “It has been a big step and I am not sure we were expecting such a big step off the field as well as on it.

“We have needed a bigger pool of players to play at the higher standard and that has not been easy at times.

“The teams in this league are professional outfits and we are doing our best to compete with that while retaining our amateur status.”

Dunn added: “We have had three weeks off which has been frustrating after our victory against Clifton.

“But the upshot is that the players have had the chance to rest and we are picking from a full-strength squad now.”

Lions: (from) Carrel, Featherstone, Wilford, Manning, Firetto, Andrews, Forrest, Hughes, Grace, Peart, Vaughan-Edwards, Booth, Hardcastle, Drake, Stevenson, Chislett, D Pearce, Robinson, Connolly, Pollard, Stewart, Veneroso, Hart.

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