Gareth Bale has hailed the form of Tottenham teammate Rafael van der Vaart.

Van der Vaart's double against Blackburn Rovers secured a fifth win in Tottenham last six Premier League matches.

"It was a great strike," Bale told the Spurs website. "It was important we scored first and the second goal was worthy of winning any match.

"After that we all knew we had to defend for our lives, and we did that."