EASTLEIGH Pirates got their London Two South West season off to a winning start with a bonus point 35-25 victory against a competitive Twickenham side at Hampton.

Eastleigh got on the scoreboard first through a penalty which came via the boot of captain Matt Lovell.

However Twickenham hit back strongly and scored the first try of the game after a long series of phases.

The Pirates though were in no mood to let victory slip away and slowly they started to assert dominance with a powerful scrummage and driving maul.

It was the latter that led to their first try through man of the match George Cotterell.

Further tries followed with Dylan Read scoring two, Arron Enock and Chris Bucket. with the extras being added via Lovell’s boot.

Head Coach Will Croker told the Daily Echo: “After such a long period away from the game it was great to pick up a BP win on the road.

“We played well and after the hustle and bustle of the first 15 minutes we settled down well and played some good stuff.”

He added: “We weren't perfect, far from it but its always a huge boost to pick up points away. Twickenham were very game for large periods and have a wonderful player in Hamish Renwick who played for me at Bournemouth but also higher up the ladder at Clifton.

“We had eight guys on debut and we showed we want to play attractive rugby.”

This weekend The Pirates are away again against rivals Tottonians, with the added intrigue of them being coached by Eastleigh's former head coach Phil Osman.

Tottonians got their season off to a great start with a 42-17 win away at Hove.

Croker said: “Tottonians will pose a real threat this week. They have signed a couple of good players in Dylan Baptista and Stephen Jenkinson and they will help give them a real presence.

“However, we have prepared well, we are pleased with the squad we have available and go in to the match with no trepidation. Its early in the season, there is a long way to go but this feels like a big game and the players are in a good head space about how we want to go about our business.”

Pirates remain largely unchanged from last week with Paul Hodgson coming in for the unavailable Paul Fudio and Phil Baldwin coming onto the bench, after a hamstring strain, for Sean Hayes.