Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham believes the last minute penalty was credit to their immense pressure as the side broke a 15-year drought over the Crusaders.
The home side appeared to have thrown away a 10-point lead against their rivals on Saturday until Quinten Strange's late brain snap in the 80th minute with scores locked at 24-all.
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Noah Lolesio's side-line penalty-goal attempt struck the upright, but the Crusaders lock intentionally knocked back the bouncing ball in the in-goal.
As Brumbies finisher Harrison Goddard was denied a play at the loose ball, Strange was deemed to have denied a try-scoring opportunity and was given a yellow card.
"I think that's sustained pressure, isn't it?" he said.
"We'd been down there maybe four times in the last 10 minutes of the game trying to get some points.
"And then players who were under a bit of pressure ... tapped it out because they thought that was the only option.
"I think it was the right call."
The Crusaders targeted the Brumbies scrum, losing three scrums whilst conceding five penalties.
It's been an ongoing issue for the ACT side, with captain Allan Alaalatoa calling for a mentality shift before the finals.
"We've been under pressure in that area for the last few weeks and as a forward pack, we know it's not good enough," Alaalatoa said.
"We knew today was going to be a huge test for us, and we didn't deliver again. It's probably something ingrained at the Brums, that pride in the set piece. It's something we always go back to that's probably going to get us out of trouble.
“For us as a pack, we've really got to believe in that, the front-row, we've got to look at that detail and see where we can be better.
“What we're delivering at the moment isn't good enough."
