BOURNEMOUTH head coach Will Croker hailed a “marked improvement” as his charges put themselves back in the driving seat to secure a play-off spot.

Lions returned to second in South West Premier having ended a two-game losing run with a 24-19 home victory over Ivybridge.

Defeats for promotion rivals Maidenhead and Newton Abbot provided a welcome boost for the Chapel Gate outfit, who were the only team in the top four to triumph on Saturday.

Croker told the Daily Echo: “We had suffered a couple of body blows. Losing to the bottom two sides, irrespective of whether it was away or not, clearly did us some damage.

“But we managed to get back on the horse and, while we weren’t 100 per cent free-flowing and didn’t pick up a bonus point, we got the win which was important.

“The shot in the arm of realising the other sides hadn’t won was palpable. I don’t think we had even got off the pitch and people were discussing it. It was a huge boost.

“We have a responsibility to one another to make sure we stick to the structures and have belief.

“It was a marked improvement on our previous two games and put us in good shape. We know we are only going to get better.”

Bournemouth made six personnel and three positional changes for the clash against 12th place Ivybridge.

One of which included the return of second team coach Jo Burns, who started in the second row for the first time since April 2015.

The hosts suffered an early setback when Ivybridge’s Matt Grieveson touched down after two minutes.

But a penalty from Grant Hancox coupled with two converted Alex Sutherland scores gave Croker’s men a 17-12 half-time advantage.

Despite going behind once more after Harrison Legge’s try was converted, Lions dug deep and got their reward with an important third score.

Winger Wyn Roberts showed his pace to touch down near the posts and Hancox added the extras to help Lions chalk up their 14th league win of the campaign.

Croker added: “It wasn’t a particularly flowing performance, at times it was a little bit functional. We had made a few changes because we had some people back available.

“The front row hadn’t played together for a few weeks and we had a new second row combination with Jo Burns coming in. Grant Hancox hadn’t played at 10 for more than a month.

“But what I was really pleased with was our systems worked. Our line-out worked in the main as well as the maul off the back of it.

“We probably should have scored a couple more tries but I was happy with the step up in intensity and attacking play.”

Bournemouth are a point ahead of third-place Maidenhead, who they host at Chapel Gate in a vital encounter on Saturday (3pm).

Bournemouth: Sutherland, Stewart, Everett-Bolter, Chislett, Roberts, Hancox, Hardcastle, Napier, Manning, Firetto, MacDonald, Burns, Sharp, Bennett, Rees. Replacements: Carkeet, Kirkpatrick, Spiller.