The Lions continued to set the pace in this year's Absa Currie Cup with a 36-27 victory over the Blue Bulls in Pretoria on Saturday.

While their victories in the opening rounds against the Pumas, Griquas and Leopards were to be expected - the Johannesburg side competed with a full complement of Super Rugby players - their success at Loftus Versfeld confirmed they were the form side in the competition.

The win also moved the Lions four points clear of the second-placed Sharks at the top of the log.

Lions coach John Mitchell stressed that there was still room for improvement although he was notably satisfied with the character showed by his team.

"I'm bloody happy, but there is a long way to go and there's a lot improvement left in us," Mitchell said.

"It was a good performance but I think in the first half we made life a little bit difficult for ourselves because there was a lot of slow ball."

The loss left the Blue Bulls in an unfamiliar position at the bottom of the standings.

Bulls coach Pine Pienaar, who was visibly gutted, said his charges were not rectifying their mistakes.

"I'm heartbroken," admitted Pienaar.

"It is very frustrating when the problems we identified continue to pop-up during our matches. We will again have to sit down on Monday and be honest with each other on where we need to improve as a team.

"We have the talent here, it is just about getting the players to respond to the task at hand."

Meanwhile, in Bloemfontein, the Cheetahs grinded out a 28-22 win over Western Province.

One of the most important aspects of the match was that Springbok fetcher Heinrich Brüssow showed he was still one of the best ball-hunters around.

The flanker featured in the last 25 minutes of the match and opened the door for a recall to the national squad for the home leg of their Tri-Nations campaign.

The Cheetahs, in the process, handed Province their first defeat of the season.

On Friday night, defending champions the Sharks again failed to get the better of Griquas in Kimberley, going down 43-22.

The Leopards recorded a 27-15 victory over the Pumas in Potchefstroom, bagging their first win of the competition, with Varsity Cup star Wesley Dunlop one of the star performers on the night.

SAPA