Western Force coach Simon Cron says his side's "unwavering grit" in a thrilling after-the-siren 45-44 win over Moana Pasifika boded well for the Super Rugby season.
The Perth-based team's last-gasp win on Saturday was clinched by Wallabies flyhalf Ben Donaldson who sprinted 50 metres after a 26-phase move to dot down in the 83rd minute.
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He then nailed the conversion to seal a stirring comeback from 13 points down with 10 minutes left.
"We've talked about previous teams in Western Force history having a lot of unwavering grit and fighting to the 83rd minute," Cron told reporters after the season-opening victory.
"I think these boys did that. For us at the end we showed some unwavering grit, which is important for us.
"All players who experience a game like that, where you win it in the 83rd minute through a number of phases, start to build some belief, fight for each other," he added.
"We can take a lot of learnings out of it."
Force travel to Canberra to face the Brumbies next week, with Stephen Larkham's depleted side also digging deep to earn a 36-32 win against Fijian Drua in Suva.
The Brumbies, semifinalists in the past two seasons, rested their key Wallabies contingent of Len Ikitau, Tom Wright, Allan Alaalatoa, Nick Frost and James Slipper.
But even their second-string side, including six debutants, was too good for Drua, battling back twice from deficits to take the lead late and hold on.
"It's a great way to start our season. We've been focused on this game for a long time now," captain Ryan Lonergan said.
"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."
Their narrow wins ensured all three Australian sides in action won their opening games of the season, with the Waratahs downing Highlanders 37-36 on Friday.
The Reds had a bye.
The demise of the debt-ridden Melbourne Rebels last season has strengthened the four remaining Australian sides, who snapped up players left without a team.