On Saturday Bournemouth Rugby get their first taste of the challenge that awaits them in National 2 South. After a hugely successful 2018-19 campaign - they conceded just 304 points and lost only once, and were promoted as champions of the South West Premier Division - the players and staff could be forgiven a little confidence in their prospects for the coming season.

But for Director of Rugby, Will Croker, there is no room for complacency, and the fixture list does not allow him to ease his players into life at National League level. The Lions open their account this weekend with a trip to Taunton’s Towergate Stadium, where they will meet a Titans side that is making some big moves.

“We know it is going to be very difficult,” said Croker. “Taunton have finished in the upper echelons of National 2 for a long time now, and made no bones about the fact that they are very keen for promotion this season.”

Summer signings for Taunton include the former Exeter Chiefs winger Jack Arnott, back-rower Dan Lee who returns after four seasons at Cornish Pirates, and former Australia A and Leicester Tigers forward Julian Salvi.

Croker adds, “They’re clearly in the market to do some business.”

Added to this, Bournemouth face Henley and Tonbridge in the first month of the new season to complete the set of the clubs that finished in a runaway top five in National 2 South last year.

But for Bournemouth, this season is one of excitement and exploration with a team that genuinely believes it is good enough to cut it at this level. And Croker maintains that they must stay true to the principles that got them promoted.

“We try to do two things very well,” he says.

“First, be relentless in defence. We don’t just want to make tackles and soak up pressure. Last season we only conceded something like 304 points, and we took great pride in that. We almost enjoyed defending.”

It is a simple message, and one that every team from mini-rugby to international level will have heard plenty of times.  But the Lions’ record speaks for itself, and their ferocious energy without the ball will be critical in a league where teams will be better organised, better drilled, and will exert control for longer periods than opponents last season.

Croker continues, “Second, we have a ruthless multi-phase attack. When we get the ball we want to keep it, sustain pressure, work defences by creating bodies in motion, and cause them to pinch in organisation.”

The Bournemouth man acknowledges that this will be a lot harder in a league where defences, and particularly opponents’ “jackals over the ball” are much better. But when his team comes together, he insists, they have enough threats in the backline to score a lot of points.

“In certain positions we’ve got players that can change the game in the blink of an eye,” he says.

“Ben Roberts at 8, Mike Pope at 10, the old stager Sammy Hardcastle at 9, Grant Hancox’s boot. Threats all over the pitch.”

And there will be opportunities for new signings to make their mark, and press the coaches for places in the starting XV.

“We’ve got George Cottrell who is going to be starting at tight-head, a youngster in his early twenties, loads and loads of promise. James Griffiths, a really talented 19-year-old second-row from London Irish with quick feet for a big fella. We’ve still got lots to teach him, but he’ll be coming off the bench to make a difference. Conrad Carkeet, another 19-year-old who is tough, uncompromising, and gets through his tackles. He’s young player who will give us more variety off the bench.”

And of course, Bournemouth will look to last year’s player of the season and players’ player of the year, Ben Roberts. The second-row’s ability to cover ground, and grit in performing so much of the unseen work for the team reminds Croker of former England flanker Richard Hill. Roberts stepped into the less familiar number eight jersey last week for the first time, and will continue in the role against Taunton with captain Joe Rees still unavailable.

Perhaps, though, the most valuable asset that this Bournemouth team possesses is their absolute refusal to concede defeat. In a tough run of games after Christmas last campaign the Lions won three matches in a row in the last play of the game. At that critical time of the season a defeat or two might have sown seeds of doubt and invited pressure on the coaches and players. For Croker, it was the togetherness and willingness to fight right to the end for one-another that saw them through.

“We just believed we weren’t going to be beaten.”

And he believes that Saturday’s fixture at Taunton will be a good barometer for him to judge where the team is at the start of this season.

“It’s an exciting time,” he adds. “We can’t wait to get started.”