"I was like 'we've got plenty of time, what is everyone blowing up about?'," the ACT Brumbies' replacement flyhalf said.

But they didn't. The Brumbies were down by a point after Hansen had missed a conversion attempt against the Queensland Reds on Saturday night. Now the 22-year-old had sprayed a 50/22 attempt to give away possession inside the final minute of the Super Rugby AU showdown.

"Get this on record. I thought we had three or four minutes left, I don't know why, I just did," Hansen said with a grin.

"I've seen the 50/22 and thought 'perfect, I'll kick that and we're in their 22'. I absolutely shanked my kick, so that doesn't help. Everyone starts booing and everyone was swearing at me.

MORE RUGBY UNION

"I think it was like 20 seconds to go, I realised once everyone started booing that I had kind of messed up. It was strategic, that's where I wanted it to go, mate."

Strategic, because the Brumbies would win the ball back moments later. Strategic, because an 83^rd minute penalty for taking out the scrumhalf gave Hansen a chance to nail a penalty kick from 41 metres out.

While his first conversion attempt had faded, this one would not. The Daramalan College export went from zero to hero to snatch a 22-20 triumph in arguably the best game of the season.

"It was seriously just a dream come true. They're the moments you look for. To get the opportunity to win it for the boys is just unreal," Hansen said.

"I was kicking them a lot [on Friday], pretty much that exact kick, and I couldn't buy one. It had to go over today, because it was so terrible yesterday.

"You always picture big moments like that. It was something I have dreamed of, to do it at this level, I'm lost for words."

Three tries off rolling mauls - two from hooker Folau Fainga'a and another from replacement Connal McInerney - had the hosts in a position to win the top of the table clash.

But as they trailed by a point with first choice kicker Bayley Kuenzle off the park, Hansen was handed the responsibility of slotting a goal to put them ahead. It missed.

It could so easily have knocked his confidence out of the stadium - but that's not how Hansen operates. Because as Fainga'a puts it, this kid has "some big balls".

Hansen soon found himself under a pile of ecstatic Brumbies players who have now completed a clean sweep of their interstate rivals at the halfway point of the season.

"He is not going to get rattled by mistakes. He is a kid who will back his skill, talent and ability. We knew that," Brumbies coach Dan McKellar said.

"He will make a mistake here or there, that's him as a footballer, he backs himself. The pros far outweigh the cons with him.

"Just happy for Mack. As we said in the sheds, a born and bred Canberra boy. He's been supporting the Brumbies since he was a toddler. For him to step up with confidence and kick a clutch penalty goal was brilliant. Really proud of him, and just proud of the effort.

"I thought our forwards were brilliant tonight. We knew they would come at our set piece, and we scrummaged as well as we have scrummaged in a long while and won it through our maul."

A Fainga'a brace has lifted the Brumbies hooker's astonishing strike rate to 24 tries in 37 Super Rugby games.

Fainga'a narrowly missed out on becoming the first Super Rugby player to score tries in seven consecutive games last week.

So the 25-year-old set about building a new record from scratch when he crashed over off the back of a rolling maul in the sixth minute - his eighth try for the year.

But Fainga'a had no intention of waiting another week to score his next. All he needed was another 27 minutes to crash over off the back of another Brumbies special.

He now finds himself just one short of becoming the ninth Brumby to score 25 Super Rugby tries - a list topped by the likes of Joe Roff, Stirling Mortlock, Henry Speight and Stephen Larkham.

It seemed as though the return of Jordan Petaia lifted the Reds off the canvas on the eve of the half-time break when he dived over the line to mark a triumphant comeback.

But the try was redacted by the man upstairs due to foul play after Brumbies winger Tom Wright was hit high and late a handful of phases prior. The Petaia decision could have gone one of two ways for the Reds.

Their heads could have dropped, they could have thought the prospect of breaking a six-match losing streak at Canberra Stadium on a cold winter's night was little more than a pipe dream.

Or they could use it as motivation to stage a second half comeback.

So fight back they did through tries to Harry Wilson and Angus Scott-Young, before the boot of O'Connor stretched the lead to six.

The Brumbies' second entry inside the Reds' 22 came deep in the second half - with just six minutes remaining, they would again crash over via a rolling maul through replacement hooker McInerney.

And then came Hansen's moments. The gut-wrenching miss, the sprayed kick in-play, and the defining moment.

AT A GLANCE

Super Rugby AU round five: ACT BRUMBIES 22 (Folau Faingaa 2, Connal McInerney tries; Bayley Kuenzle 2 conversions; Mack Hansen penalty) bt QUEENSLAND REDS 20 (Harry Wilson, Angus Scott-Young tries; James OConnor 2 conversions; OConnor 2 penalties) at Canberra Stadium. Referee: Nic Berry.