VIDEO: Bulls lay 'good foundation' for Lions clash

Both sides scored three tries in what was an arm-wrestle at Loftus Versfeld and it was the Bulls' forwards that paved the way for victory against their more fancied opponents.

"It wasn't pretty out there," said Mitchell. "We endured the distance of the match probably far greater than they did, which was encouraging.

"We always knew that we were ready, it was just a matter of deciding whether we can go the distance, to get through the untidy periods.

"We were probably very fortunate, there was an entity period just after half-time where we did not concede and we just spent too much time in our own half. The game was always going to be full of mistakes, it is about how you respond and how you get yourself out of these situations."

The Bulls face the Lions in Pretoria next weekend and Saturday's win will give Mitchell's side plenty of confidence heading in that encounter.

"I think it is a really good foundation. It is a good foundation to understand what we have been doing in the pre-season has been the right way to go. 

"We lasted longer than the Hurricanes and that was important. What is exciting now is that we got our neighbours [Lions] next week who are an outstanding side. 

"They are an outstanding football team, but like any football team they present you with opportunities, so it is going to be a different game compared to what we experienced today [Saturday].

@rugby365com