But the rest of the competition will be wary of Jake White's side after it continued its remarkable start to the season with a clinical 37-6 defeat of the Rebels at Canberra Stadium.

The first half was a return to vintage attacking rugby as the Brumbies secured a four-try bonus point before the break.

And just seven weeks into White's tenure with a new generation squad, the Brumbies have already restored the pride which was lost in their horror campaign last year. It took them 17 weeks to notch four wins last season.

This year it has taken them just seven games and they sit where nobody expected them to be - at the top of the Australian conference.

Their play ignited the 14,011-strong crowd and they won new fans with their exuberance and keenness to play with flair.

But while they reclaimed first place in the Australian conference with the 31-point win, White insisted ''we're not getting ahead of ourselves''.

''We know how quickly things turn so we've got a massive couple of games waiting for us,'' White said.

''Things change in one weekend, a couple of hours ago we weren't on top of the table.

''Now we've got two massive games in South Africa and it's too early [for finals talk].''

Just eight days after their disappointing performance against the Queensland Reds, the Brumbies set Canberra Stadium alight.

After getting to an early 6-3 lead, the Brumbies grew in confidence and stature.

Instead of taking simple penalty shots at goal, the Brumbies went for the killer blow. Twice in just six minutes they turned down opportunities for three points and instead went for attacking lineouts.

It brought the crowd to its feet as attacking rugby returned to the capital and on both occasions the decision paid dividends.

First it was Pat McCabe crashing through defenders to score the opener and then Michael Hooper followed the same path.

The Brumbies then blew the Rebels out of the contest with tries to Scott Fardy and Ben Mowen before half-time.

The unknown Brumbies had successfully tamed the Rebels rock stars and ended their two-game losing streak.

First XV debutants Tevita Kuridrani and Fotu Auelua impressed and the young Brumbies were never seriously challenged.

At the start of the season there were low external expectations on the Brumbies. But an indication of how much the squad has evolved is White urging his team to be more ruthless.

While the result was never in doubt, the second half drifted along and Fardy's second try was the only one after the break.

''There will always be room for improvement,'' White said.

''If we're being critical, to start like we did and not keep the foot on the gas and really finish them off [could improve].

''But this time last year we lost to the Rebels … We'll learn as we go along and that's a great lesson to learn to be more ruthless when you've got them under the pump.'' The Brumbies' defence was equally as impressive as their attack.

Million-dollar Rebels recruits James O'Connor and Kurtley Beale had little influence on the match as the Brumbies ran rampant. The Brumbies will fly to South Africa tomorrow to prepare for their games against the Pretoria Bulls and Johannesburg Lions.

Taking on the Bulls in Pretoria will be the biggest test for White's young squad.

The only injury worry for the Brumbies was skipper Mowen who left the field with a neck complaint.

But he said he was being ''precious'' and would be available for selection.

''If you asked me before we started training in June I would have thought we would be ahead of where we expected to be,'' Mowen said.

''But now we're where we expect to be and in fact a little disappointed with the previous two performances. We've got high expectations of ourselves.''