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Johannesburg - It was an upbeat Frans Ludeke, just a day after his birthday on Friday, who said he was "quite happy" with the Bulls performance against the Chiefs at Loftus on Saturday.
The Bulls beat the log leaders 33-27 and moved into second place on the log with the Chiefs sliding to third position.
"We would've liked the bonus point, but the win in itself is very important.
"I think the guys played well. Our option-taking was good, the guys played a good tactical game, and we took our chances," he said - although he admitted that they also came close on one or two other occasions.
Ludeke lauded flyhalf Morne Steyn for his tactical kicking.
"He was outstanding. What made it even better was the way we followed up the kicks and kept our lines on defence."
That allowed the Bulls to play much of the game in Chiefs territory, and even with the score at 33-27, it was the Bulls who held the upper hand.
His captain Victor Matfield shrugged off the few missed tackles.
"Very few sides didn't concede four tries to the Chiefs. Yes, we did have our soft moments, and that one thing we'll work on for the next match. We're trying to improve every week."
Ludeke was also happy with the Bulls' scrummaging. "It's not so much that we spent time on our scrum, it was more a case of the forwards buying into it," he said. And that was about time, as the Bulls were unimpressive in this facet until three weeks ago.
Ludeke said his players seemed a little tired towards the end of the match.
"Five matches away from home aren't easy. We also made this a fairly easy week for them and didn't work them very hard. At this stage of the season it's more about mental preparedness, anyway - and in that regard we're fortunate that we have so many senior players."
Ludeke's opposite number Ian Foster was disappointed that the Chiefs had not kept their position at the top of the log. However, he was buoyed by the fact that "we still have our destiny in our own hands. We'll just have to make sure we win our remaining matches," he said.
Foster was, however, wary of the Stormers, whom the Chiefs play at Newlands on Saturday night. "The Cheetahs have shown that no side should be taken lightly," he said with reference to the Bloemfontein side's win over the Sharks two weeks ago and against Crusaders (20-10) on Saturday.
Stormers coach Rassie Erasmus admitted that the Stormers' 18-11 win over the Highlanders in Dunedin didn't mean that the Stormers had achieved anything on tour.
"We know the win wasn't against a very strong side," he said to Sunday newspaper Rapport, "but I was proud of the way in which the guys stuck to their task."
The Stormers want to win their last three matches, which will give them six wins. Added to six near-wins, all lost by seven points or less, it would make for "a not too poor season," said Erasmus.
Eugene Eloff, coach of the Lions, who were outplayed 55-14 by the Western Force on Friday, said after the match that he didn't "know where the players are. They certainly didn't pitch up for this game."
It is an understatement after one of the poorest performances by a South African side this season - especially coming after their good win over the Reds the previous week.
