ACT Brumbies defeat Otago Highlanders, break Australia's duck in Super Rugby Pacific

Because a 28-17 win over the Otago Highlanders in Melbourne on Sunday provided more than four competition points.

"That was Scott Sio's best game in five years, he looked like he did as a 22-year-old with his carry and power, and his work-rate in general," McKellar said.

Then he starts to rattle off the rest. Jahrome Brown was the man of the match for his role in a ruthless back-row. Darcy Swain put in an 80-minute shift. Wallabies hopeful Cadeyrn Neville made a long-awaited comeback. James Slipper showed everyone what it is to be world class.

Nic White, Noah Lolesio, Irae Simone and Ryan Lonergan were so exhilarating in attack that "we had some really dominant passages there and probably should have been up by more after half an hour".

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But the lead they had was enough. The Brumbies came to Melbourne for Super Round and walked away as the first Australian team to beat a New Zealand-based rival this season.

They broke the duck on the first weekend of crossover clashes, and White says "this is just the start".

McKellar will keep a lid on celebrations. The Brumbies mentor knows this is just the first step in a gruelling trans-Tasman block, and the challenge only gets tougher.

The Highlanders have just one win to their names this season though four of their past five defeats to Kiwi sides had been by seven points or less.

The Brumbies knew they didn't have to be pretty in Melbourne. They had to win the collision and to get over the gain line. They needed just 108 seconds to cross the Highlanders' line, but they failed to make it count as Tom Wright dropped the ball over the line to bomb a certain try.

The howler mattered little as Brown soon scored from close range, before Lachlan Lonergan crashed over off the back of a rolling maul. Stand-in skipper Nic White so nearly had their third only to be denied by a knock-on.

It took the Highlanders more than 34 minutes to dip their toes inside the Brumbies' 22. When the time came, outside centre Thomas Umaga-Jensen wasn't going to let it slip.

Having already seen the Queensland Reds cough up a 17-point lead this weekend, McKellar's half-time address to his troops was simple: understand why you dominated the first 25 minutes, and do not get bored of it.

When they were accurate at the breakdown, the Brumbies were able to outmuscle the opposition. They could see cracks in their Kiwi counterparts, even if they weren't perfect in every aspect.

McKellar and the Brumbies know there is room to grow, and they know they will have to be better in the coming weeks, content with being Australian rugby's great hope as trans-Tasman rugby kicks off again.

"There was no pressure, we felt a whole lot of excitement. We've felt that excitement for a couple of weeks, once we knew these games were coming," McKellar said.

"We're all pretty passionate rugby union people, not just at the Brumbies but across the board, and we want to create positive stories for the game in this country so we're talking about good things instead of constant negativity.

"I thought there was a lot of good things to talk about there today. I thought there were a lot of good things from [Saturday] night's game as well, I thought the Tahs were incredibly brave on Friday night.

"Pleasingly we picked up a win today, we crack on and look forward to hosting the Hurricanes next Sunday."

AT A GLANCE

Super Rugby Pacific round 10: ACT BRUMBIES 28 (Jahrome Brown, Lachlan Lonergan, Noah Lolesio tries; Lolesio 2 conversions; Lolesio 3 penalties) bt OTAGO HIGHLANDERS 17 (Thomas Umaga-Jensen; James Lentjes tries; Marty Banks 2 conversions; Banks penalty) at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium.

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