Pine can breathe again

Blue Bulls coach Pine Pienaar was a relieved man after his side broke a losing spell against the Free State Cheetahs in Pretoria on Saturday.

Pressure was building as Pienaar's team lost three consecutive matches before the Bulls beat the Bloemfontein side 34-30.

"I didn't sleep much the whole week and I'm just glad I could get past tonight and I am happy for the players," Pienaar said after the match.

"The last few weeks was hectic, especially off the field and obviously it is a bit of an emotional rollercoaster."

The Bulls had to overcome a fight-back by the Cheetahs towards the end of the match to bring some relief to the Pretoria-based side who moved off the bottom of the standings.

"The first half we really played well and our defence was really outstanding in the first half," he said.

"In the second half, you can't take anything away from the Cheetahs they came out and got a few opportunities and they used that and put us under immense pressure up until 81 minutes."

The side's defence has been a source of concern for the Bulls as their opposition easily found gaps in their defensive lines.

The Bulls have in the process dug themselves out of the last place on the Currie Cup log to give themselves a chance at reaching the play-offs.

Pienaar was, however, under no illusions that the team was still far from dishing up a spotless performance.

"I am relieved by the win, I am happy by the way we pitched up defence wise and I next week will be even tougher," Pienaar said.

"There are a lot of things we could have done better and that's what we will have to look for."

SAPA