They might have won but the Waratahs face a nervous week to see whether they'll progress through to the Super Rugby finals despite a 38-32 victory over the Rebels at Leichhardt Oval in Sydney.
After Matt To'omua landed a 77th minute penalty to secure the Rebels a losing bonus point by finishing within seven points, the equation is simple: with the Waratahs (19) having a bye in the final round of the regular season, the Melbourne-based team (15) need only beat the winless Western Force by four points or more to leapfrog NSW into third place and book a finals place.
Only moments earlier the Waratahs were celebrating as fly-half Will Harrison swan-dived over the line after Michael Hooper charged down Andrew Deegan's clearing kick and the 21-year-old was first to the ball and raced away to score under the sticks.
But To'omua's pressure-cooker penalty three minutes from full-time was a dagger in the hearts for the Waratahs.
NSW had one final chance to deny the Rebels a losing bonus-point after the final siren sounded, but they literally kicked their finals hopes away as they ran the short side from a lineout and put boot to ball to gift possession back to Melbourne.
Marika Koroibete had his teammates' hearts in their mouths when he decided to run the ball instead of kicking it out to end the match, but after he threw a wayward pass in-goal that was picked up by Reece Hodge the experienced Wallaby had the sense to run it dead to finish the epic contest.
Waratahs coach Rob Penney cut a dejected figure at his post-match press conference.
"For me it feels a bit like a loss," the first-year Waratahs coach said.
"Like I haven't got my head around the fact that we actually won, so a bit of mixed feelings of course."
In their 10 year history the Rebels have yet to make the Super Rugby finals.
"I thought the Waratahs played really well, I thought they deserved to win," Rebels coach Dave Wessels said.
"But our season's still alive, which is nice, so we've got to play better next week."
"It's effectively a quarter-final now. I thought the Waratahs were better tonight, but we hung in there and we did what we needed to do to keep our season alive."
Whoever secures third spot will take on the Queensland Reds (21) in the first week of finals, with Brad Thorn's men now assured of second spot while the Brumbies (28) booked themselves the home final on September 19 by beating the Force 31-14 on Friday night.
All match the game was on a knife's edge.
To'omua posted the opening points of the night from the kicking tee, landing a penalty in just the third minute.
But their early lead didn't last long.
Needing a bonus-point win to put themselves firmly in the finals hunt, the Waratahs turned down a relatively easy shot at goals themselves and went for a try.
The decision paid off as halfback Jake Gordon spotted the smallest of holes and burrowed over to score.
To'omua then missed with his second attempt of the night as he hit the right post and Waratahs back-rower Jack Dempsey showed urgency to get to the ball first to prevent a Rebels try.
Dempsey then found himself at the other end of the field and crashed over to score. Harrison's second conversion gave the Waratahs a 14-3 lead after 23 minutes.
It was then though that the Rebels finally came alive.
They moved the ball splendidly down the left-hand edge to lift the healthy crowd on the Wayne Pearce Hill to their feet. They were cheering even louder when the Rebels dropped the ball on the Waratahs' 22 metre line when they looked threatening.
The Rebels then seized control of the momentum off the back of a series of penalties and attacked the Waratahs' defensive driving maul. They didn't stand up to it.
Waratahs lock Ned Hanigan was shown a yellow card after his side gave away three penalties on their own line.
Moments later and all their toil went to waste as To'omua scored. His conversion cut the score to 14-10 after 37 minutes.
Harrison's boot would restore their converted try lead and help stem the bleeding as he landed his first penalty of the night to give the Waratahs a 17-10 lead at half-time.
It didn't last long though as damaging back-rower Isi Naisarani powered over after 45 minutes to help the Rebels lock the scores up.
The see-sawing battle continued though as Harry Johnson-Holmes scored three minutes later to once again give the Waratahs a converted try 24-17 lead.
It took some Hooper magic for the Waratahs to start to dream.
After the Rebels were pinged for being offside, the Waratahs got some more field position and they didn't waste it.
Hooper went searching for a hole in the middle of the field and the Japan-bound incumbent Wallabies captain could hardly believe a gap opened like the Red Sea and after pinning the ears back he offloaded to unleash a barnstorming Joey Walton who hit the ball at speed and broke free to score under the posts and give the Waratahs a 31-17 lead.
Some excellent goal-line defence saw the Waratahs hold on soon after and eventually win a penalty as the Rebels were caught slowing the ball down.
It was then that the Waratahs' dream of a bonus-point faded as Harrison failed to find touch and Reece Hodge marked the ball just inside the field of play up on halfway.
✨ Some Marika magic! #SuperRugbyAU #REBvWAR.
— RUGBYcomau (@rugbycomau) August 29, 2020
WRAP: https://t.co/54ae4xYNMO pic.twitter.com/Eq2mwCvLdY
From the mark, the Rebels attacked and countered as To'omua stepped past two defenders and found some space before unleashing Koroibete, who somehow managed to find the line despite the best efforts from a covering Gordon. To'omua's sideline conversion saw the Rebels cut the score to 31-24.
Matt Philip's yellow card in the 65th minute saw another twist and the Waratahs looked like immediately making the numerical advantage pay as Jack Maddocks crossed inches inside the field of play. But replays didn't show evidence of a grounding to deny the fullback a try.
The Rebels then made their way to the other end of the field and were helped by a tough penalty against Hanigan for hands in the ruck.
Naisarani's second try in the 71st minute cut the score to two points but To'omua couldn't convert.
Harrison then went from villain to hero when he scored in the 73rd minute.
But To'omua's late penalty was a heartbreaker for the Waratahs.
AT A GLANCE
Waratahs 38 (Gordon, Dempsey, Johnson-Holmes, Walton, Harrison tries; Harrison 5 con; Harrison 2 pen) bt Rebels (Naisarani 2, To'omua, Koroibete tries; To'omua 3 con; To'omua 2 pen)
