BOURNEMOUTH head coach Will Croker said new recruits had to be the right fit for Lions next season – despite attracting interest from some overseas stars.

Promoted to National Two South after winning South West Premier, the Lions director of rugby revealed how talent from as far as South Africa had expressed interest in coming to Chapel Gate.

But Croker insisted he would not be forking out big money for any potential new players.

He told the Daily Echo: “Whenever you do well, suddenly everybody thinks ‘well there must be loads of money flying about’.

“I have had guys from South Africa emailing me saying they’d really like to come across but we’d have to give them a car, a flat and a job! I was just like ‘we have no chance’.

“We have a couple of guys who get some money for coaching. Everybody else is there because they love it.

“I’d much rather find really good people who we can coach to be better, rather than going out and trying to find the whole package coming for the wrong reasons.”

Giving an update on recruitment, Croker said: “We have got to look to bring people in. It’s not about bringing in great numbers for us, it’s about bringing quality in the right areas.

“We of course have a door open policy for guys at local clubs.

“We are now going to be two levels higher than anybody else is playing locally and if guys want to test themselves within the league structure, we are the go-to club.

“We have spoken to a couple of people but nothing is confirmed at this stage.”