Morne Steyn predicts a bright future for the Bulls youngsters after Lyon win

Bulls captain Morne Steyn praised the young players in his side after the men from Pretoria claimed a 42-36 win against Lyon in the Champions Cup.

The win was the Bulls' first in the competition and exceeded expectations after coach Jake White fielded a mixed lineup that was missing several Springboks.

The Bulls started the game brilliantly and found themselves in a 21-0 lead, but Lyon constantly fought back into the game throughout, making for a fairly tight finish.

Steyn was delighted with the performance and, in particular, how the team played for the full 80 minutes at Loftus Versfeld.

"A great fight from the boys for 80 minutes and I think that's what we're going to get every week. Next week we're in Exeter and it's not going to get any easier," Steyn said.

"I think that was the most important thing; we told the boys in the cloakroom that we wanted a good start and I think thatâ™s what we did. We put them away in the first half but they kept on fighting for 80 minutes so yeah, it wasn't easier.

"I got a bit of cramp in the last 10 minutes but that's probably the old legs, but it's great to get an 80-minute fight by the boys."

The much-changed lineup saw scrumhalf Bernard van der Linde star with a brace of tries in a man-of-the-match performance, while several others performed well on the night.

Steyn credited the young stars and predicted a strong future for the Bulls' youth.

"I know a lot of people didn't give us a chance, and a lot of guys that played tonight, a lot of them [fans and pundits] didn't even know their names; there were a lot of guys who also came back from injury.

"So I think thereâ™s a lot of big names for the years to come."

The Bulls will travel to England to face Premiership side Exeter Chiefs next weekend at Sandy Park, who come off a solid win against Castres in the opening round of the Champions Cup.