BOURNEMOUTH enter the business end of the season on Saturday as they welcome 12th-placed Barnes to Chapel Gate (2pm).

After successive heavy defeats to Clifton and Esher, Lions know that there is still everything to play for in the battle to remain in National Two South for another season, writes Adam Hunter.

Bottom for most of the season, the relegation fight has become a three-way affair, with Bournemouth on 17 points, and Sutton & Epsom and Old Redcliffians above tied on 21 points.

One win will lift the Dorset club out of the relegation zone provided other results go to form. With fixtures against both rivals to come - including Sutton & Epsom twice after the early-season fixture was rescheduled - Lions will need to turn good performances and bonus points into victories, and must surely be targeting those three matches as must-win.

Last weekend they ran into a powerful Esher side who racked up five tries in a 40-7 victory.

Discipline, again, hampered the Bournemouth effort, with key player Grant Hancox the man given his marching orders this time around.

Keeping 15 players on the pitch for the full 80 minutes will be essential if results are to go their way, as well as keeping the penalty count down to stifle scoring chances for the opposition.