HEAD coach Will Croker believes skipper Joe Rees is “fired up” to impress on his return for Bournemouth after copping some flak in training.

The Lions number eight suffered a nasty toe injury in a freak surfing accident and has not featured for the first team since the opening day of the South West Premier campaign.

But having been named in Lions’ starting XV for Saturday’s trip to Drybrook, Croker insisted Rees’s return had given his charges a boost.

He told the Daily Echo: “The boys have been taking the mickey out of Joe over the past few weeks asking him whether he played rugby anymore or whether he just trained. He just gave them a load of abuse back!

“Everybody around the club knows that Joe Rees is our captain. I think he is now incredibly fired up to show why he justifies his place in the team and why he is the captain.

“He is a huge character for us. He’s an incredibly talented rugby player, a huge presence and someone you give the ball to and know you are going to go forward.

“Joe’s a fundamental figure in our set-up. He is the link between the coaching team and the players.

“He is fiercely proud of having the job but is also the first one to pick up on whether himself or others are not playing well. He is not afraid of having a tough conversation with somebody.

“It’s going to be great to have him back.”

Lions are sitting pretty on top of the league standings with seven wins from as many games.