ACT Brumbies captain Ryan Lonergan has declared his team has plenty of improvement to come after holding off a fast-finishing Western Force to secure a tight victory on Saturday afternoon.
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The Brumbies led by eight with six minutes to play before a late Harry Potter try cut the deficit to three.
The Force winger then broke free minutes later, racing 70 metres down the field before spilling the ball in a heavy collision.
From there, the ACT scrum stepped up to secure a match-sealing penalty.
Despite the 22-19 win, many of the problems that plagued the Brumbies in last week's 46-12 loss to the Waikato Chiefs emerged on Saturday and Lonergan conceded his side was still below their best.
"It's a positive step forward from last week," Lonergan said. "There's still plenty to work on but at least the things we're not looking at this week are around attitude. That was the most disappointing thing from last week.
"We showed up this afternoon and now we can review things knowing if we make small changes around tactical things that if we continue to bring that attitude, we'll continue to move forward."
While there are aspects of their game that require improvement, Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham was thrilled with the mental response from last week's loss.
ACT trailed 14-0 after a sluggish start before regrouping and overcoming head injury assessments to Sefo Kautai and Luke Reimer.
Despite the chaos off the field, the team rebounded midway through the first half with a Lonergan try before Noah Lolesio made it 14-8.
Given the way the first half played out, the Brumbies were thrilled to enter the sheds only trailing by six.
"They got us 14 points down and we kept our composure and it was good leadership through that first half," Larkham said.
"We scored a try, then took the points to be there at half-time and then started the second half quite well.
"There's a few disappointing things, the obvious one is the lineout has been letting us down for the first couple of rounds but we'll get on to that. The pleasing thing is there was good intent from the boys out there today."
The match turned immediately after the break when Darcy Swain came crashing to the ground in an ugly mid-air collision. Potter was sent to the sin bin while the ACT lock missed the remainder of the game after failing his HIA.
With a 12-day mandatory stand-down period, he is set to sit out next week's clash with the Otago Highlanders in Dunedin.
The Brumbies took control of the contest while the Force were down to 14 men, with debutant Lachlan Shaw and the replacement front row of Blake Schoupp, Billy Pollard and Rhys van Nek dominating the scrums.
Tries to Rob Valetini and Pollard put the side up 22-14, however the hosts were unable to make the most of opportunities to kick further clear.
Their failure to do so allowed the Force to strike late and led to the tense finish.
"When we were out by eight points, that was our opportunity," Larkham said. "We had a couple of opportunities off the lineout down their end and we didn't execute, so that was disappointing.
"The end of the game I thought was outstanding composure and leadership on the field. There was lots of pressure and we scrambled quite well. Then our scrum ... we started to get dominance in the scrum and ultimately what we saw at the end of the game, that won us the game."
Victorious Brumbies honour 'Quinzo', withstand late Harry Potter magic
The ACT Brumbies have held on to claim a thrilling victory over the Western Force in their first home game of the season.
The hosts looked to be cruising to a comfortable victory, leading by eight with six minutes to go, however Harry Potter crossed against the run of play to set up a grandstand finish.
The Brumbies had the chance to close the game out moments later, but an apparent missed Force knock-on triggered another 70-metre charge down the field.
ACT scrambled to force an error, before drawing a penalty from the ensuing scrum that secured a nervy 22-19 win.
The Western Force were left to rue Ben Donaldson's wayward afternoon with the boot, the flyhalf missing two crucial kicks that could have put his side in front.
The Brumbies' win came on the day they honoured club legend Garry "Quinzo" Quinlivan, with the team paying tribute to him prior to the match.
Despite the early emotions, the side was sluggish throughout the first half and many of the problems that emerged during last week's 34-point loss to the Waikato Chiefs returned on Saturday, the Brumbies turning the ball over on multiple occasions and pushing passes.
The lineout was wobbly throughout the contest, the Force making multiple defensive steals.
ACT, however, lifted in the big moments and took control of the contest in the second half before a nervy final five minutes.
The scrum in particular was superb, with replacement front row of Blake Schoupp, Billy Pollard and Rhys van Nek winning multiple penalties, including the match-winner in the final minute.
The Brumbies were slow out of the gates in the first half, with the Western Force threatening to blow them off the park early.
The visitors made their opponents pay, Donaldson breaking free from a lineout set play before linking up with Hamish Stewart to open the scoring.
It was 14-0 moments later, Michael Wells reaching out to extend the lead in the 20th minute.
The Brumbies hit back through a long range Ryan Lonergan try before Noah Lolesio made it 14-8 with a penalty goal.
That was the end of the scoring in the first period, a Force five-pointer overturned for obstruction. It was a fortunate call for the hosts and they entered the sheds lucky to only trail by six after an underwhelming half.
Momentum shifted after the break when Harry Potter was handed a yellow card for a nasty mid-air collision with Darcy Swain.
It took the Brumbies six minutes, but eventually they crossed through Rob Valetini, with Lolesio putting his side up one before Billy Pollard struck soon after to make it 22-14.
The visitors had chances to hit back but were unable to convert until a try against the run of play with six minutes remaining set up a grand stand finish.
It was tight, but ultimately the Brumbies held firm to secure a tight win.
ACT BRUMBIES 22 (Ryan Lonergan, Rob Valetini, Billy Pollard tries; Noah Lolesio 2 cons, pen) bt WESTERN FORCE 19 (Hamish Stewart, Michael Wells, Harry Potter tries; Ben Donaldson 2 cons) at Canberra Stadium.