ACT Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham had nothing but praise for his side after his understrength side delivered victory against the Fijian Drua.
Six players made their club debut, with three on their Super Rugby debuts, however, the ACT side had enough class to deliver a 36-32 win in Suva.
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Larkham kept the faith with the squad that drew with an all-star Waratahs side and defeated the Western Force in Canberra during the pre-season trials.
That trust delivered a 'special moment' for the Wallabies legend, watching his side battle back twice from deficits to take the lead late and hold on to become the first Australian side to win in Fiji.
"I'm really pleased with the win. It was really tough conditions out there, and I think that's what you see with all the teams that travel to Fiji," he said post match.
"It was a real challenge for us tonight. We went behind by eight points in the second half there and there was some really good leadership at the back end of the game to bring that game out."
The likes of Len Ikitau, Tom Wright, Allan Alaalatoa, Nick Frost and James Slipper stayed in Canberra whilst Rob Valetini (hamstring), Charlie Cale (shoulder) and David Feliuai (finger) were out injured.
"We'd spoken before the game about the Wallabies that weren't playing with us on this trip. We'd spoken about the guys who'd played exceptionally well in the trial games and had really good pre-season involvements in training and earned the opportunity to come and play for the Brumbies here today," Larkham explained.
"Those guys stepped up, particularly the young guys that came off the bench, eight points behind. They came off the bench, and they found a way to win tonight.
"It's a very special moment for the Brumbies."
It fills the Brumbies with confidence heading into next week's clash with the Western Force, with games against the finalists Chiefs and Blues away to follow.
"It's a great way to start our season. We've been focused on this game for a long time now," captain Ryan Lonergan added.
"Coming off a positive result, we'll get back to Canberra and we'll assess how everyone is and then look to move on to the Force."
The Brumbies will still likely be without Valetini for next week's clash, whilst Cale and Feliuai are likely back for round three.
"He's progressed really well. All of his strength markers are where they need to be. I'm not exactly sure of the timeframe on that one," Larkham said on the John Eales Medalist.
"I don't think he's available this week coming, but the rehab is going really well. He's ticking all the boxes so far.
