BOURNEMOUTH head coach Will Croker hailed Andy Spikings “a revelation” – even though admitting the loosehead prop “hates scrummaging”.

Spikings has starred for the Lions since recovering from a career-threatening injury which saw him have his knee reconstructed.

He has filled the void created by Joe Tarrant’s departure to Richmond and again impressed in Bournemouth’s 42-8 win over Lydney at Chapel Gate on Saturday.

Nicknamed Bagpuss by his team-mates – after the cloth cat in the children’s television series of the 70s – Spikings ran close Jack Hennings for the man-of-the-match plaudits.

Croker told the Daily Echo: “He hates the nickname and has threatened to walk off if anybody calls him it on the pitch!

“My brother coaches the forwards and came up with it. Andy is very fair and, one day in training, he looked puffed out and was bright pink and white. My brother said he looked like Bagpuss and it has stuck. He scored a try recently and they announced him over the Tannoy as Bagpuss!

“He has been a revelation for us. He is the only prop I have ever coached who can’t stand scrummaging. He just wants to run in open spaces.

“He made an electrifying line break up the wing on Saturday. He must have run 60 metres and got caught in sight of the line. The crowd went nuts.

“We were worried when Joe Tarrant left us because he was a hugely talismanic player. We wondered how we were going to replace him.

“Andy has been unbelievable. He plays through the pain and has all sorts of treatment just to get him on the pitch.

“He delivers every week. At training, we put him back together in the physio hut so he is ready to go again by Saturday.

“He has been a real inspiration and is someone all the other players have enormous respect for.”

Freddie Gleadowe cashed in on an error in the Lydney ranks to open the scoring with an opportunist try inside the first 90 seconds.

Grant Hancox maintained his 100 per cent scoring record by converting and repeated the feat after Wyn Roberts had touched down.

A Hancox penalty and a second try from Roberts saw Lions reach the break leading 22-0 before Lydney trimmed their advantage to 22-3 with a penalty.

However, Bournemouth upped the tempo in the second half with Jack Hennings, Robbie Boyd and Hancox all going over. Hancox completed the scoring with a conversion and a penalty.

Croker added: “We had been building towards this. Lydney are always a tough team. They are hard-nosed lads from the Forest of Dean and pretty uncompromising. We knew it was going to be a case of trying to win the physical battle and we did.

“They gave us a soft try at the start. That got our tails up and put them on the back foot straight away. But they still needed to be put to bed.

“We scored a couple of tries in the second half which would have graced any rugby field. We were delighted with the performance.”

Lions: Hancox, Everett-Bolter, Gleadowe, Chislett, Roberts, Boyd, Hardcastle, Spikings, Manning, Firetto, Treloar, Kenneally, Hennings, Bennett, Rees. Subs: Jeffes, Richardson, Yeats.