But at 113 kilograms he's more than happy to take a ball inside his own half, put it on the toe and pip two defenders in a footrace to score.

It's the kind of highlight reel play that shows just how dangerous the Brumbies can be after a second-half blitz secured a 42-25 win over the Wellington Hurricanes in front of 8010 at Canberra Stadium on Sunday.

It marks the first time the Brumbies have claimed back-to-back wins against New Zealand teams since 2014.

Hurricanes coach Jason Goodall had warned his side about it this week. He'd spoken of "their No. 6" and the "need to defend mauls". But they're both easier said than done, especially when Valetini pulls these tricks out of the kit bag.

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"We've spoken to the back-rowers this year, if you play on an edge you've got to have the skill to kick the ball and put it in the backfield. A nice little left-footer there and he got a surprise for himself," Brumbies coach Dan McKellar grinned.

It was apparent from the outset the Brumbies were up for the challenge. Jahrome Brown was at his devastating best. Nic White was sniping around the ruck and Lachlan Lonergan seemed as though he would break through with every carry.

A yellow card to Hurricanes lock Justin Sangster seemed to spark the visitors into action, and they soon had the hosts on the backfoot when Brown saw yellow as the Brumbies fell behind.

It was a test of resolve McKellar's squad passed with flying colours, entering the half-time break with a three-point lead off the back of a moment of Valetini brilliance.

But you could have heard a pin drop on the other side of the half-time break when Salesi Rayasi split the defence to score virtually untouched.

Though just as they did in the first half, the Brumbies responded in the face of adversity. Lonergan scored off the back of a rolling maul. Then Brown cashed in.

The Hurricanes would not die wondering. Billy Proctor cut the margin to 10 before Hudson Creighton put the game to bed, bringing up the club's 10,000^th point and making the Brumbies the third club to reach that figure.

"I liked how we handled adversity at times. The changes we've made to how we're playing, we're starting to see them come through in some really good passages," McKellar said.

"Our defence probably wasn't where we wanted around the collision at half-time. We certainly improved that in the second half. I was really pleased with our starters but also our finishers, these games are going to be won and lost in that last 20 minutes, and their ability to come on and make a positive impact is what's going to be required over the next six weeks."

The Brumbies' toughest assignments are still to come. The top-three ranked Kiwi teams in the Waikato Chiefs, Auckland Blues and Canterbury Crusaders are next in line, but ACT fans are daring to dream.

"With every week that goes, you can see the end there. We can start to sense we're building something here. The buy-in, that's only going to grow stronger after two wins. We know it's working," White said.

"When you get that sense, your tail is up. It was a great crowd here, arvo footy. I feel like we're growing, so it's a good feeling. There's no illusion, we spoke about it all last week, there's a lot of hard work there and we've got to prepare ourselves for that.

"We don't just fluke it on a Sunday arvo at two o'clock. There's a lot of hard work there that goes in between Monday and Sunday, we're going to have to dig in again."

AT A GLANCE

Super Rugby Pacific round 11: ACT BRUMBIES 42 (Rob Valetini, Lachlan Lonergan, Jahrome Brown, Tom Banks, Hudson Creighton tries; Noah Lolesio 4 conversions; Lolesio 3 penalties) v WELLINGTON HURRICANES 25 (Peter Umaga-Jensen, Salesi Rayasi, Billy Proctor tries; Jordie Barrett 2 conversions; Barrett 2 penalties) at Canberra Stadium. Crowd: 8010.

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