Talking points: ACT Brumbies almost double Western Force's tackle tally in nailbiting win

Western Force made 76 tackles in its 29-23 loss at Canberra Stadium, compared to the Brumbies' 145.

It proved the difference, as the visitors could not hold out the Brumbies in the dying minutes.

"At half-time we made over 100 tackles and we had to have belief in our system there. We had one shot to attack and we scored," Brumbies captain Allan Alaalatoa said.

"As a forward pack, we showed again that our might is powerful and when we gave ourselves that opportunity to play down their end, we came away with points. [Defence] was a great area for us."

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Two new faces joined the line-up in navy blue, gold and white on Sunday afternoon to become Brumbies No.239 and No.240, respectively.

Ollie Sapsford debuted in the final 10 minutes of the match.

The 26-year-old Kiwi is locked in for the 2022 and 2023 seasons with the Brumbies.

Similarly, Goulburn's Ed Kennedy also made his Brumbies and Super Rugby debut.

The 27-year-old came on in the 60^th minute, having returned to Australia from a three-year stint in Wales.

The Force was eyeing its second ever season-opening win and came so close after securing a one-point lead in the 75^th minute.

Three minutes later everything changed, but there was one silver-lining for the Perth team this week. The side has been based in Brisbane due to Western Australia's border closures but Friday's announcement provided a homecoming date - March 3.

Force captain Feleti Kaitui'u said the mood in the team had been great, despite being away from home.

"We spoke about the fact that everyone's dealing with issues back home and it's part of the fabric of this club dealing with adversity, we just take it in our stride," he said.

"We got a nice result there the other night with [WA Premier] Mark McGowan opening the borders. So everyone's got a bit of a spring in their step now."

Andy Muirhead had more than one reason to celebrate on Sunday, with a win and a 50^th Super Rugby milestone to mark.

His milestone game came five years after his debut in South Africa, a far stretch from when he drove from Brisbane to Canberra for nothing more than the promise of a chance to train.

Brumbies head coach Dan McKellar acknowledged the winger's milestone, as he himself marked his own.

Sunday was his last season-opening Super Rugby game at the helm of the Brumbies before he joins Dave Rennie's Wallabies set-up in a full-time capacity at season's end.

"It's nice to be back in a Brumbies dressing shed," he said.

"We'll go ahead and sing the team song acknowledged three of our milestones. Andy Muirhead playing his 50th game, an incredibly popular player and really lives our values day-to-day."

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