Chiefs skipper Craig Clarke was pleased that his side showed some character in a gutsy end to their hard fought 29-22 win over the Brumbies on Friday.

The match was a tight arm-wrestle between the two sides and went down to the wire, but a few brave calls from Clarke to go for the try helped his side to come out on top.

"I don't know if it was an outstanding game," Clarke told Superrugby.com.

"We struggled a bit and we were going backwards a fair bit of the time but we showed a bit of character and a bit of fight and that got us through.

"The Brumbies were up in our face, their defence was good and we were struggling to get go forward."

Brumbies captain Ben Mowen was positive that his team had given a good account of themselves in their first away match of the season.

Despite the Brumbies suffering their first loss under coach Jake White, they made life tough for the Chiefs and it was neck and neck the whole way.

"It was a little bit disappointing in the end, but I think some of the things we did in the game - our carry and our defence - which is what we were chasing," Mowen said.

"There's a really good mentality underlining what we're trying to do here and that's good.

"We were a little bit unlucky in the end but there were some positives there and some things to work on."