WILL Croker said he would leave the door open for star Hamish Renwick after he returns from his travels.

The Bournemouth number eight has been in impressive form this season, helping Lions record a flawless winning start to the campaign.

He was named man-of-the-match during the 65-7 South West Premier hammering of Camborne last time out and is set to feature when Croker’s men face Cleve at Chapel Gate on Saturday.

But after revealing the former Hartpury College student would miss the second half of the campaign, the Bournemouth head coach said he would have Renwick back in a heartbeat.

He told the Daily Echo: “For now we are just going to enjoy having Hamish because, if he keeps performing like this, then there are not going to be many back rows in our league who will touch him.

“His skill set is so high. He makes very few errors and we are really going to miss him in December when he goes skiing.

“He is going to do a sports therapist season for the guys who are skiing. I think he’s got himself a bar job to top his money up as well.

“We are hopeful that once the ski season is over we can try to tee him up with a job locally so we can get him back again.

“Of course he has to go where the work is but from our perspective we would be really keen to get him back. If we can go up this season his experience in National Two would be invaluable.

“His speed over the first 10 or 15 metres, as a forward, is what sets him apart. The opposition really struggle to adapt to the pace at which he plays. To have him for half the season was an absolute no-brainer.”

Lions sit top of the pile having only conceded 62 points in six games. Third-place Barnstaple have the second-best defensive record, having shipped 126.

The Chapel Gate outfit are also the leading points scorers in the division, totalling more than 41 points on average per game.

Visitors Cleve are 10th in the table with two wins out of six.