BOSS Will Croker revealed how a defensive tweak had paid huge dividends for Bournemouth as they made it five South West Premier wins on the bounce.

Lions continued their flawless start to the campaign thanks to a 34-3 home triumph over Brixham.

The Chapel Gate outfit have conceded just 55 points in their opening fixtures – 52 fewer than any other side in the division.

And having denied three teams from crossing their try line already this season, the club’s head coach was delighted to witness their defensive resilience.

Croker told the Daily Echo: “If the opposition don’t score you are unlikely to lose the game. At the very least you are likely to pick up a bonus point.

“We changed our defensive shape a little bit. When Mike Pope came in from Cornish Pirates he had a look at some of the clips of the way we defended last season.

“He felt we could just work a little harder around the breakdown. I don’t mean in terms of the contact area but in wrapping around the breakdown to then be able to have enough on the openside.

“It has meant we have been able to almost defend man-on-man and push up a lot harder – giving the opposition a lot less time.

“Last year we perhaps defended a little narrow. We used to defend from in to out – so we would defend quite tight and push them towards touch.

“If we got it wrong it meant they could get around the outside of us. This season we have taken that out and made these fundamental changes.

“It’s made a real difference and if you go into these games and back your defence then it puts you in a really good position.

“You only have to look at the league results as they come in and you see teams getting 50-odd points against 40-odd.

“They have been very high-scoring, so for us to be shutting out the opposition is really pleasing to see.”

With no Grant Hancox available to Lions, full-back Karim Lynch took over kicking responsibilities and traded penalties with Brixham’s Joel Ashworth in the early exchanges.

But after that, Bournemouth registered 31 points without reply.

Sam Hardcastle and Joe Tarrant crossed before the break for the hosts and despite having Jack Hennings sin-binned, Croker’s men kept their foot on the gas.

Alan Manning touched down following the break before Adam Higgins scored to ensure the try bonus point.

There was also time for centre Mike Haines to register a try on his Bournemouth debut – a new recruit Croker is keen to have on board.

“Mike is someone who I am really excited by,” said the director of rugby.

“He has played for England students and Exeter University. He has played for Exeter Braves which is their A-League side.

“He has been training with us since the beginning of September. He knows all our plays but because he works at Canford School, he can’t play much of this term.

“He will be available for us full-time from December. It just so happened this week he was able to get a game in.”

Lions head the standings with 24 points from their opening contests. They are level with Ivybridge who on Saturday recorded a 41-31 win at home to Exmouth.

Croker’s men are set to take on sixth-placed Camborne on Saturday.