Blue Bulls coach Pine Pienaar was reluctant to take much credit for his side's dramatic Currie Cup victory over the Cheetahs, explaining that the character they showed at Loftus Versfeld cannot be coached.

After trailing 6-17 at the break, the Bulls fought back strongly to win by three points and Pienaar was impressed with the way they managed to pull together when the pressure was on.

"One thing that can't be coached is the character which they have shown. It was a team effort and everyone showed commitment to pull off a win and it's something we needed as a team," said Pienaar.

While the Bulls coach revered his team's success, Cheetahs coach Naka Drotske lambasted his team for letting the victory slip through their fingers.

"I think we had the game in the bag and threw it away," said Drotske. "What we decided at half-time and then did in the second half was the exact the opposite."

Drotske said his team played too much in their own half and when they were in the Bulls' half of the field, they kicked away too much possession.

At times it looked like the Bulls were going to lose their second game of the season, but they showed resilience to claw their way back into the lead which showed that they can never be written off, no matter how many high-profile players they may be missing.

Pienaar said the Bulls forced too many passes which gave the Cheetahs a lot of turnover ball in the first half.

"Gary [Botha, Blue Bulls captain] mentioned at half-time that we needed to look after the ball better, and that is what we did in the second half," he said.

Pienaar said he was satisfied with the win but felt his team still had a lot of work ahead of them.

Botha said their set-phase play had improved from the first round match against the Sharks and his team kept their cool at certain times in the match.