TIM Collier marked his return to Chapel Gate with two tries as Bournemouth recorded their first victory of the season against Barnstaple.

The former Worcester Warriors forward last week accepted the club’s invitation to return as player-coach and his first Bournemouth start since April 2012 coincided with a thumping 49-13 win.

Lions trailed 13-11 at the start of the second half but they put their foot on the pedal after that and finally got their National Three South West campaign up and running.

Full-back Jordan Petheridge chased down a clever chip to put Barnstaple in front, but wing Luke Berry pulled his conversion left of the posts.

A further Berry penalty made it 8-0 with seven minutes played, only for Jon Sanchez to reply with a couple of kicks of his own.

Bournemouth were handed a boost when blindside flanker Scott Warren was yellow-carded for his illegal attempts to stop a home maul.

Moments later, the lineout hit its target and the ball found its way back to Rob Elloway, who drove over for his maiden score for the club.

Sanchez might have missed the kick but Bournemouth held an 11- 8 lead, an advantage which remained until the interval.

The visitors began the second period in fine style when they swept the ball left and scored in the corner, although Berry pushed his kick wide.

Momentum swung further in the visitors’ favour when Alex Sutherland was sin-binned, with wing Wyn Roberts suffering the same fate moments later for not rolling away.

Improbably, Bournemouth took the lead once more. A big push from a scrum allowed Collier to bulldoze his way over from a yard out, before replacement Lewis Dennett slotted the kick between the uprights.

After time off the field for a blood injury, Collier grabbed his second try and Lions had opened their lead to 23-13, despite still being a man short.

Sam Hardcastle then nipped in to steal the ball at the front of a five-metre lineout and he crossed the whitewash to ensure a bonus point for Lions.

Replacement flanker James Bovett continued the onslaught and Sutherland added the extras to put Bournemouth 35-13 up.

Alan Manning was driven over and Sutherland kicked the resulting conversion, before a Hardcastle try and a Sutherland kick completed the rout.

Bournemouth: Jeffes, Morgan, Sutherland, Ryan, Roberts, Sanchez, Hardcastle, Firetto, Elloway, Manning, Collier, Rees, Ashburner, Antoniades, Hennings. Replacements: Bovett, Dennett, Richardson.