The Waratahs have completed their pre-season campaign with a hard-fought 17-14 victory over a fast-finishing Brumbies outfit at the Sydney Football Stadium on Thursday night.
Having dominated the opening stanza, the Waratahs crossed midway through the second to take a commanding 17-point lead before two late tries to the visitors set up a thrilling finish.
Both sides showed glimpses of what they are capable of in attack in an at-times heated affair which served as the ideal preparation for the upcoming Super 14 campaign.
The first opportunity of the match belonged to the Waratahs as Kurtley Beale found a charging Rob Horne who was dragged down just short of the line by some desperate last-line defence.
Some excellent counter-rucking from the hosts led to another attacking raid deep in Brumbies territory but the Waratahs settled for a penalty goal and a 3-0 lead in the 10th minute.
Having repelled a sustained attack the Brumbies finally won possession and promptly set up camp in Waratahs' territory, but they too failed to find the line.
The Waratahs were finally given a reprieve when Mark Gerrard grassed a clearing kick that failed to find touch to hand the hosts an attacking scrum 40 metres out.
And the hosts took full advantage when Rob Horne completed a silky backline movement to post the first try of the night.
Beale kept the defence guessing as he drifted across field before finding a straightening Tahu who slipped past Stirling Mortlock untouched before linking with Horne who showed a blistering turn of pace to dot down out wide.
Beale's conversion made it 10-0 in the hosts' favour.
Despite dominating the final 15 minutes of the opening half, the Waratahs had to settle for a 10-0 half-time lead despite the best efforts of Horne who came close to a second try late in proceedings.
Predictably both sides rung the changes at half-time with Stirling Mortlock among the change for the Brumbies, while Chris Hickey re-shuffled his backline inserting Daniel Halangahu and Luke Burgess for Horne and Brett Sheehan.
The Brumbies looked certain to score six minutes after the restart when Christian Lealiifano found Clyde Rathbone out wide before the former Wallaby lost his footing with the line in sight.
After a promising first hit out in a Brumbies strip, Stephen Moore was rested in the 49th minute while George Smith and Josh Holmes were also given early showers after pleasing efforts.
Meanwhile, the Waratahs continued to look threatening with Halangahu calling the shots at flyhalf inside Beale, and the dual playmakers combined in the 58th minute when Halangahu put a well-weighted kick behind the Brumbies' defence which Beale gratefully accepted for a 17-0 lead.
Some quick thinking from replacement scrumhalf Patrick Phibbs led to the visitors' first points 13 minutes from full time - Phibbs sprinted 30 metres untouched from a quick-tap before linking with Lealiifano who out-sprinted the cover defence for the converted try.
Momentum stayed with the visitors when replacement hooker John Ulugia barged over in the corner after another darting run from Phibbs.
Lealiifano added the extras to cut the deficit to three, 17-14, and that's how it stayed.
Both sides will commence their Super 14 campaigns across the Tasman with the Brumbies to face the Highlanders on Friday week, while the Waratahs face the Hurricanes the following night.
Waratahs 17
Tries: Horne, Beale.
Conversions: Beale, Halangahu.
Penalty goals: Beale
Brumbies 14
Tries: Lealiifano, Ulugia
Conversions: Gerrard, Lealiifano
@ Sydney Football Stadium, 23/01/09, Crowd: 8321.