WILL Croker cannot wait for Bournemouth to try to bounce back from their defeat to Hornets when they play their next game "in the middle of nowhere, on top of a hill".

Croker’s team were inexplicably subdued as they were sunk 33-10 by their visitors from Weston-super-Mare in National Three South West on Saturday.

Lions travel to fourth-placed Ivybridge this weekend but first the head coach is seeking to identify what led to his side’s first home loss this season.

Croker told the Daily Echo: “We had our most productive midweek sessions before the game, in terms of technical work, intensity and application.

“I explained it to the boys afterwards, it was like we lost our crackle, our fizz. Even our pre-match warm up had gone really well.

“But then it was like someone had shaken up a bottle of coke, turned the lid – and you expected it to explode – then nothing came out.

“That was exactly what our performance was like. We were flat. We had a really poor first 10 minutes.

"They were more physical than us and we kept bouncing off tackles, which is very unlike us.”

Adam Davies’s try hauled Bournemouth back to within touching distance of their opponents at 14-10. But after Lions opted against a kick at goal that would have reduced the deficit to one point, Hornets ran away with the game.

“In the second half we didn’t play badly but we weren’t accurate enough in anything we did,” said Croker.

"They played tough rugby and they were good at winding our boys up, using some old-school methods to get under our skin – and we didn't respond to it.”

Croker refused to use his team’s two-week lay-off prior to the match as an excuse for their performance. Instead, he and his players are tackling their frustration head-on.

“I have spoken to every player individually and asked them to email me their feedback,” said Croker.

"Almost to a man, they don’t think it’s a coaching issue or a skill set issue. It’s purely an application and execution issue. They have all put their hands up and taken responsibility for it.

“I would expect them to do that but I’m extremely proud of the fact they’ve done it that way. It’s easy to make excuses and point the finger at other people. But sometimes you have to look inwards and accept you were not on your game. I am fully expecting there to be a bit of a backlash this week.”

Which leads to Bournemouth’s trip to Devon-based Ivybridge.

“It’s a tough place to go, in the middle of nowhere, on top of a hill,” added Croker. “They have a fantastic clubhouse and they’re nice people but in terms of conditions, it’s an absolutely horrible place to go and play rugby.

“We’ll try to put some points on the board early, put them under pressure and see if we can put some demons into their heads.”