Bournemouth playmaker Grant Hancox pinpoints away-day successes and bonus points as two key factors in the South West Premier promotion race.
Hancox played his 100th league game for the club on Saturday and brought up the milestone in style by grabbing their fourth try in a 30-13 bonus-point win at fourth placed Exmouth.
It was their ninth four-try bonus in their opening ten games, and their sixth road success so far and Hancox says they could be crucial.
Hancox said: “The bonus points could be massive at the end of the season.
“We are ten games into the season now - so there are ten try bonuses in particular up for grabs - and we are sat here with nine bonus points.
“If you look at the league table then that is the equivalent of two wins so it is massively important if you can finish that league season with as many bonus points as possible.
“There are 24 or 25 points just in bonus points up for grabs potentially just from a try-scoring perspective - plus losing bonus points should we ever be on the receiving end of a loss.”
The Lions have tasted success on their travels at tough places such as Old Patesians, Weston-super-Mare, Bracknell, Camborne, Drybrook and now Exmouth.
In five of those trips, they have registered try bonus points and Hancox said it is proof of their progress compared to seasons gone by.
Hancox added: “These away day wins are massive for us.
“Two or three years ago our achilles heel really was our away form and we have worked really hard to rectify that.
“To come to places like Exmouth, Drybrook, Camborne and Weston-super-Mare and win.
“It is quite nice for me to be able to reel off the names of some of the places where we have come on the road after some big journeys and we have come away with four points following a win - or maybe even five points for a bonus-point win like we did on Saturday at Exmouth.”