There was no better example than the critical score they nailed on 60 minutes.
Defending their own line they appeared to be in real trouble, only to turn the ball over, break free, keep it alive and then create enough space for Lwasi Mvovo to score.
That put the Sharks 29-19 ahead and they knew they were just about home from there.
The Brumbies never gave up - kept trying to find a way to keep the unexpected momentum of their season going, but they were up against a brick wall defence. The Sharks haven't started as they would have liked and have made it a priority to put their campaign back on track while on the road.
A win in Canberra was the best possible start and they can be confident that if they take the same intensity and awareness to New Zealand, they are going to be a handful.
If the championship were purely about hard work, ambition and commitment, both the Sharks and Brumbies would be potential champions. There was no respite in this game - two teams determined to succeed with ball in hand rugby.
It was end-to-end, breathless rugby that was as frustrating as it was thrilling. The skill level was not quite where it needed to be for either team to pull off their game-plan.
The Sharks spent much of the second period in control, offloading out of the contact and splitting the Brumbies only to be scuppered by their propensity for little errors.
They had enough moments of accuracy and composure, though, to stay in front and get the job done. That was the key - for all the mistakes, there were phases of fluid, error-free rugby that put the Sharks out of sight.
The forwards were dominating the collisions and that gave them the confidence to play the ball out of contact. Some of their work in that area was top drawer and it enabled them to get in behind the Brumbies' defence and leave them scrambling.
Brumbies 26 (J. Mogg, N. White tries; C. Lealiifano 2 cons, 4 pens); Sharks 29 (W. Alberts, L. Mvovo, R. Viljoen 2 tries; F. Michalak 3 cons, pen).
