The Brumbies might have picked up a crucial bonus point win against the Western Force in Perth, but coach Stephen Larkham and captain Allan Alaalatoa admitted it was hard yakka to leave the West with a win.
The crucial 33-14 win sees the Brumbies jump up to second on the ladder, all but locking in a top six finish - but the ACT side knows there is a lot still to play for, with a potential home semi final on the line and the Crusaders holding a one game advantage below them in third.
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Speaking after the match, Larkham didn't hide how critical that result was for the visitors - and how hard they had to work for it.
"We know where we sit on the table now," said Larkham to reporters.
"That bonus point at the end of the game was certainly helpful, we've been speaking about that the last couple of weeks because the ladder is so tight and competitive. We've been chasing bonus points.
"We had to work for that one.
"The whole game, from the get-go, we knew the Force were very good at the breakdown, very competitive, their line speed was putting us under a lot of pressure. All of our tries came from really hard work, particularly in the forwards."
Despite the scoreline, the match was a tough affair, with the Brumbies dominating possession but having to work hard to break through a resilient Force defensive line, which ended up making an astounding 299 tackles.
In the end, it took two tries in the final ten minutes for Ollie Sapford and Liam Bowron to finally break the hosts' hearts.
Larkham was quick to tip his hat to the Force's effort, with his side having to make 264 tackles against the Hurricanes earlier in the year.
"That's something we've been working on all year, trying to hold the ball, break the opposition down. We had to do that tonight," said the Brumbies' coach.
"If you've got the ball inside their half and defending as well as they are, it's going to be one of those games where there is a high tackle count.
"It was really difficult - they covered the field well, slowed our ball down so we couldn't find any opportunities.
"At the backend of the game, the forwards were very tired - our reserves came on and did a fantastic job of bringing some energy to it, our backs worked really hard from side to side, and eventually found some space down the edges.
"We were expecting that coming into the game. We weren't expecting to be as tough inside the 22."
"We knew that anything we got tonight, we had to earn," echoed Alaalatoa.
"We needed to go through them at the start. Holding onto possession helped, but it felt like we were running into brick walls.
"Obviously, we're thinking about our team, but it had an effect on them as well.
"I thought our finishers were massive tonight. The deeper we go into this competition, the more we're gonna rely on them. I thought it was great for them to come on and win us that game."
Despite the praise, the Brumbies coach and captain were quick to turn their attention to next week despite the praise, with their last two clashes at home between the Reds and the Crusaders - fixtures that will be critical to determine the make-up of the top four.
The Canberra side will likely be without two of their Wallabies, with Luke Reimer likely to miss the Reds clash due to sustaining a HIA in Perth.
The more worrying loss is that of Noah Lolesio, who was stretchered from the field in the 20th minute. Though the Brumbies have revealed he has since been cleared of a serious spinal injury, it is still unclear how long the incumbent Wallaby fly-half will be on the sidelines.
"It all looks positive, but it was a pretty nasty injury," Larkham added.
