But skipper Sam Carter says the players can't fall into the trap of thinking they're "world beaters" after surviving a heart-stopping win against the Western Force 25-17 on Friday night.

It was the Brumbies' first win of the year and the another gutsy performance could define their season after two tight losses in the first two rounds.

The timing was perfect as Super Rugby officials met in London to discuss the competition's future and the possibility of cutting either the Brumbies or the Force from the competition.

The result was never going to determine the outcome of that meeting, which it is hoped will finish on Saturday.

But the young Brumbies showed poise under immense pressure should be praised for fighting back after their worst start to season since 1999.

They are now unbeaten against the Force since 2013, winning the past seven matches between the teams.

There's also life in their season ahead of a massive contest against arch rivals the NSW Waratahs in Sydney next weekend and they're set to be bolstered by the return of Scott Fardy, who was left out of the clash against the Force for "tactical" reasons.

The Brumbies scored two tries in the last seven minutes against the Force to win by eight points and had to overcome a four-point deficit to steal a win.

"It's a massive relief, we've got a young squad at the moment and we're learning how to win," said Brumbies captain Sam Carter.

"We managed to grind it out and it's a good win for us. I think we're pretty determined to never lose, it's good to get the 80-minute performance.

"It's massive for us at the moment, but we have to realise we're not world-beaters yet. We have to build on that and keep moving forward."

Both the Brumbies and the Force face a nervous wait to see what decision SANZAAR will make about the future of the competition and if all five Australian teams will remain.

Force coach Dave Wessels wants five teams to say, pointing to Australia's two Super Rugby titles and World Cup final appearance in the past six years as proof five franchises can co-exist.

But against the Brumbies at Canberra Stadium, the Force and Wessels were frustrated by ill-discipline and poor decisions when they had a chance to break a losing streak in the capital.

Force lock Ross Haylett-Petty was sin-binned late for a clumsy and lazy shoulder charge, opening the door for the Brumbies to win.

The Brumbies scored four tries to two, but the Force still showed their rejuvenated spirit and proved they are not pretenders this year.

"We're pretty disappointed with that performance. The Brumbies are good at forcing pressure, that's how they win games," Wessels.

"To finish the game with almost double the amount of penalties against than four, when all week we've talked about our discipline, that's not acceptable really.

"First and foremost this performance is on me. My job is to make sure we get the messaging right ... there will be a number of individuals who have to front up [for mistakes], that starts with me."

The Force bombed two chances in the first five minutes when they stretched the Brumbies' defence.

The visitors looked impressive and were playing with intent, but errors crept into their game and allowed the Brumbies to score first via winger Henry Speight.

Both teams were willing to try some trick plays, but it was the fleet-footed Wharenui Haweri who opened the game up with his first Super Rugby try just before half-time.

The Force hit back on the stroke of half-time and then stole the lead just after the break to drain the energy out of the 8647-strong crowd.

The Brumbies found a way to fight back and stole the win in the last 10 minutes to turn their season around.

"There's good feeling in the group at the moment, it was certainly an emotional rollercoaster through the game but much better composure at the end and superb execution to finish the game off," said Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham.

"We've learnt some lessons in the last two weeks. Will it be easier to sleep tonight? I don't know, we're not getting ahead of ourselves. We'll enjoy that victory because it was a long-time coming."

When the Brumbies looked good, they looked really good. But small errors proved extremely costly for a side desperate to secure a breakthrough win.

Hawera missed his first three shots at goal - two conversions and a penalty - before finding his mark with 18 minutes left to put the Brumbies within one point.

When Haylett-Petty was sent to the sin bin, former Force star Kyle Godwin barged over for his first Brumbies try and then hooker Robbie Abel iced the result in the dying seconds.

AT A GLANCE

ACT BRUMBIES 25 (Henry Speight, Wharenui Hawera, Kyle Godwin, Robbie Abel tries, Wharenui Hawera conversions, penalty) bt WESTERN FORCE 17 (Heath Tessmann, Chance Peni tries; Jono Lance 2 conversions, penalty) at Canberra Stadium on Friday night. Referee: Rohan Hoffmann. Crowd: 8647.