The ACT Brumbies have fired the first shot in the Australian conference battle for a guaranteed finals berth, overcoming finger-snapping icy conditions and rusty combinations to get a bonus-point win against the Queensland Reds on Friday night.
The Brumbies took 39 minutes to find their rhythm in a fumbling and bumbling first half that had enough errors for two games but burst through the other side for a 43-24 win at Canberra Stadium.
It puts the heat squarely on the NSW Waratahs ahead of their clash against the Japan Sunwolves on Saturday and then the final two rounds of the regular season.
If the Waratahs beat the Sunwolves with a bonus point as expected, they will draw level with the Brumbies on points. But the Brumbies will sit in the guaranteed finals spot because they've won more games than their NSW rivals this year.
The only sour note for the Brumbies is that they'll be searching for another back-rower before flying to New Zealand to play the Auckland Blues after rookie Ben Hyne suffered an ankle injury five minutes into his debut.
The Brumbies are already missing David Pocock and Jordan Smiler and could be forced to turn to Canberra's club rugby ranks for a replacement for the final two games of the regular season.
It's unclear if Hyne will be fit, but if he is unable to travel Tuggeranong Vikings back-rower Dean Oakman-Hunt could come into selection contention next week.
The six-tries-to-three romp blew out the cobwebs of a month-long Super Rugby hiatus and the Brumbies waited until they were trailing 10-0 before they got their act together.
The chilly temperatures and slippery conditions certainly played a part as passes missed the mark and the crowd was frozen to their seats in a sloppy first half.
Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham hailed his side's second half as "superb" after the bulk of the squad bounced back from the disappointment of a Wallabies' series loss to England.
"The first half was obviously a bit difficult, we turned balls over and didn't chase the breakdown as hard as we normally do," Larkham said.
"It was a pretty emotional week for the guys [after the Test series] ... the first half was a bit of training run and they got it all together in the second half."
The game sparked to life just before the break when the Brumbies went on a 75-metre counter-attack to score after the siren and set up an impressive win.
Brumbies captain Stephen Moore set a new Super Rugby record for the most tries by a hooker in a season, passing Andrew Hore and former Brumby Jeremy Paul when he scored a double to take his tally to seven this year.
Ben Alexander, Christian Lealiifano, Tomas Cubelli and Lausii Taliauli also scored to get the perfect result for a Super Rugby return.
Alexander's try before the half-time and on the back of a Queensland error when they failed to kick the ball out from a penalty changed the flow of the game.
The Reds suffered a double blow when just after the half-time break Samu Kerevi was denied a try in another moment that will put the spotlight on the controversial Television Match Official duties.
Kerevi was awarded the try and the Reds were about to slot a conversion when the TMO interjected to change the decision because Etu Nabuli had stepped out in the build up.
The decision was correct, but the process still has Super Rugby players and coaches scratching their heads.
"The two tries [changed things], it was inexcusable not to kick that ball out [before half-time]," said Reds co-coach Nick Stiles.
"...It was disappointing we went in behind at half-time and then to come out and then have what looked like a fantastic try taken away from you, that really hurt us."
Asked his thoughts on the TMO process, Stiles said: "The officials are trying to work it out themselves so if they're trying to work it out, we are as well. We'll get a point in time where everyone is happy with it."
Reds captain James Slipper added: "At the end of the day they got the right decision, it wasn't a try. There's not much you can take away from it, everyone was doing their job. Unfortunately we were on the wrong side of it.
"I was really happy with the way we started but that try before half-time hurt us. I was proud of the boys and we fought really well, but their set piece got over us in the end.
"It's a pretty good Brumbies team, they really take their chances and put you to the sword."
The Reds were playing their first game in 41 days and rust played a part, but it was no excuse for the 18 turnovers and 14 handling errors between the teams in the first 40 minutes.
The only tries in the first 39-and-a-half minutes came via rolling mauls, with Queensland hooker Andrew Ready opening up a 10-0 lead for the visitors and then Brumbies rake Moore levelling things up before the break.
But the game sprung to life just before half-time when the Reds No.9 Nick Frisby failed to find touch from a penalty and the Brumbies pounced to launch a 75-metre attack.
All of a sudden flick passes were sticking and razzle-dazzle play was back as big prop Alexander crashed over with the Reds' defence scrambling to stop the front-rower.
The Reds are playing for pride in the final stages of season after a nightmare year, but they refused to lay down and hit back through Duncan Paia'aua to cut the gap to five points.
The Reds rolled out their big guns, Leroy Houston and Kane Douglas, in the second half. It was Houston's first game in Australian rugby since 2011 and Douglas' first since injuring his knee in the World Cup final last year.
But the new blood didn't work, with Brumbies scrumhalf Tomas Cubelli setting up a try for Christian Lealiifano with a darting run that almost blew the Reds out of the contest.
Cubelli then iced the game with another great decision at the base of a ruck, scooping up a ball and bamboozling the Queensland defence to secure a bonus point, before Lausii Taliauli added to the Reds' pain.
Reds reserve prop, Taniela "Tongan Thor" Tupou, finished his debut with a try in the dying minutes to bring some respect back to the scoreboard.
ACT BRUMBIES 43 (Stephen Moore 2, Ben Alexander, Christian Lealiifano, Tomas Cubelli, Lausii Taliauli tries; Christian Lealiifano 4 cons, pen) bt QUEENSLAND REDS 24 (Andrew Ready, Duncan Paia'aua, Taniela Tupou tries; Henry Taefu 3 cons, penalty) at Canberra Stadium on Friday night. Referee: Andrew Lees. Crowd: 9830.