Brumbies flanker Luke Reimer spoilt the party for the Swire Shipping Fijian Drua in round one of the Shop N Save Super Rugby Pacific.
Reimer scored two late tries in the second spell to propel the Brumbies to a 36-32 win over the Drua at the HFC Bank Stadium in Suva.
It was still a dream debut for Ponipate Loganimasi and Vuate Karawalevu.
The duo got to debut at home and even got their names on the scorecard with Karawalevu diving over twice.
The Brumbies capitalised on an early error by the Drua and through a line-out set-piece as Billy Polard managed to creep through for their first try.
Noah Lolesio put the extra two through as the visitors led 7-0
After more than 14 minutes of scrappy play, the Drua managed to push play into the Brumbies territory and the results paid off for them.
A short pass by the returning Joseva Tamani saw co-captain Tevita Ikavere break through before sending Simione Kuruvoli over for their first try under the posts.
Caleb Muntz easily converted to level the scores at 7-all.
Two yellow cards to Sikeli Rabitu for a late tackle and Vuate Karawalevu for a deliberate knock-on proved costly for the Drua and the Brumbies easily scored two through Ollie Sapsford and Ryan Lonergan to extend their lead 17-7.
The Drua, however, managed to recover with two penalties through the trusty boots of Muntz, closing the scoreline to 13-17 inside the 32nd minute.
The wet conditions made it difficult for the players to connect their passes and some would argue it was the pressure of the game forcing errors from both sides.
A line-out error by the Brumbies inside the 35th minute in their territory gave leeway for the Drua to pounce and they did so in usual fashion, spreading the ball quickly to the flanks and Loganimasi dived over for his first Super Rugby Pacific try and that too on debut.
The Drua led 20-17 at half-time.
Like the first spell, the Brumbies came off the blocks fast, mounting pressure on the Drua while also chasing the scoreboard.
Nine minutes in, replacement player Rhys Van Nek got the Brumbies through after numerous pick and drives.
Lolesio converted from out wide to put them ahead 24-20.
Some tactical play saw the Drua win a turnover at the right edge if the field, they spread the ball wide looking for an inch of space in the opposition’s defensive line.
The hard running Elia Canakaivata spotted just that to run through before offloading for co-captain Frank Lomani who drew in two defenders, leaving an open wide space for Karawalevu to go over for his first Super Rugby try.
The Drua were in again minutes later, capitalising on a loose ball deep in the Brumbies deep territory.
Karawalevu was at the right place at the right time to scoop up the ball and score his second try, putting the Drua ahead 32-24.
Pressure was on for both teams with less than 20 minutes to play and the Brumbies found lifeline through flanker Reimer who had some big plays in the second half.
He scored two tries with less than 20 minutes on the clock to put them in front and spoil the Drua party in wet conditions.
