BOURNEMOUTH boss Will Croker has praised the commitment of his players ahead of the South West Premier visit of fifth placed Exmouth (3pm).
Sammy Veneroso sprung into action last week - travelling from Taunton to Exeter University when replacement Adam Davies pulled his hamstring.
Davies was injured in the warm-up to the First team’s 33-18 bonus-point win which pushed The Lions 20 points clear of Barnstaple, and Croker was pleased.
Croker said: “There must be a special mention to Sammy Veneroso who takes his place on on the bench this week against Exmouth, because Adam Davies’ hamstring pulled in the warm up last week.
“Last week Sam was supposed to be vice-captain for the Seconds’ team in Taunton and when Adam’s hamstring went in the warm-up at Exeter University, he hot footed it down the 40-50-minute car journey - or whatever it was - from Taunton to Exeter to take his place on the bench.
“I think he thought he was only going to get a few minutes but he actually came on with about 25/30 minutes to go and was excellent.
“He was very solid and bossed the forwards around and did what he needed to do to be able to get us and the team into the right place.
“It is absolutely fantastic to have him back because he has been such a fantastic stalwart of the club for so many years so it is great to see him have the chance to have a little run of games.”
Danny Kirkpatrick also returns to the side in place of centre Freddie Gleadowe, who has broken his thumb.
Ben Allman also replaces Mike Treloar on the bench who is unavailable, and Croker said he is delighted to have such good strength in depth.
He added: “Danny last year proved himself to be an absolutely fantastic player in a number of different positions.
“He is an incredibly talented footballer, and has some of the best feet I have ever had the pleasure of working with in terms of his balance.
“Ben Allman is someone who has been around the club for a few years and took a bit of a sabbatical to have kids but has been back this season.
“He came in for the Barnstaple game earlier this season and was absolutely fantastic for that match - his tackle count was ridiculous and was off the chart.”