PLAYER-coach Tim Collier believes a strong rearguard action will be key if Bournemouth are to make an impression in National Three South West.

The recently-installed Collier enjoyed a winning return to Chapel Gate on Saturday when Lions trounced visitors Barnstaple to secure their first triumph of the season.

However, the former Worcester Warriors forward is keen to see a defensive improvement when Lions travel to Weston-super-Mare tomorrow (3pm).

Collier told the Daily Echo: “We’ve worked on various aspects of the game in training, mainly defence, because I’m a great believer that defence wins games.

“Last weekend Barnstaple scored 13 points and they hardly touched the ball. We showed that we knew how to attack but we had creases in our defence that needed ironing out.

“I believe if we get that sorted then we should be ready to rock and roll “I don’t mind if anyone comes round us, if they do that then fair enough, but if you defend well and they don’t cut through, it’s very hard to go around.

“We’ve got some quick backs and the scramble defence last weekend was phenomenal – some of the best I’ve seen at the club.

“Once we’ve implemented the structure of the defence that we want, we’ll be fine.”

Weston possess a near-identical league record to Bournemouth with just one win from their opening four games. They grabbed their only win in a bonus- point success at Newton Abbot.