COACH Jon Sanchez insists Bournemouth "should have won" their National Two South clash at Clifton on Saturday.

Seeking back-to-back victories, Lions went down 28-15 at the Bristol-based outfit to suffer their sixth loss in seven games this season.

Alex Everett-Bolter and Ben Russell crossed the whitewash at either end of the contest for the visitors, but could not prevent the defeat as Bournemouth were penned inside their own half for long periods.

"We showed immense determination, I’m really proud and I think we should have won it,” said Sanchez.

"Those kinds of possession stats make it very difficult to win rugby matches. We are working on being more efficient when we don’t have the ball.

“We got in their strike zone four times and came away with points on three. That is a good conversion rate.”

The away side put down a marker inside 10 minutes with an exceptional team try on their first visit to the Clifton 22. A series of pick-and-go drives from the Bournemouth forwards sucked the opposition defence in in large numbers before fly-half Scott Chislett’s double miss-pass sent wing Everett-Bolter over in the corner. Full-back Grant Hancox converted to put his team 7-0 up.

But the hosts showed their quality with two quick tries. On 16 minutes, Clifton number-eight Michael Uren powered over for his team’s first, converted by fly-half James Dixon. Barely five minutes later, sloppy set-piece play from Bournemouth deep in the opposition half turned the ball over to Clifton centre Tom Stanton - on loan from Gloucester - whose searing break down the blind side eventually allowed wing Finlay Sharp over, with Dixon’s conversion making the score 14-7.

Lions hit back with a Hancox penalty, but Clifton managed a third before the break, this time from wing Cameron McDonald, with Dixon’s conversion sending the teams in for half-time 21-10.

The second half began in nightmare fashion for Bournemouth, with Sharp running in his second of the match in the first play after the restart. The score secured the bonus point for Clifton, and replacement Brad Barnes’s conversion gave them a 28-10 advantage.

The visitors showed immense grit from then on, locking their rampant opponents out for the remainder of the game. The second half was an attritional battle, with Bournemouth unable to secure possession for significant periods. Consolation came five minutes from time after another combined effort from the Lions forward pack. A driving maul from a Bournemouth line-out collapsed metres from the Clifton line, and flanker Russell’s angled run from depth took him over on the blind side. This time Hancox could not convert, and the score remained at 28-15.

Bournemouth remain one place off the bottom of the table, and continue their run of tough fixtures as they welcome Esher to Chapel Gate next weekend.