A jubilant Joe Roff tonight said he had briefly reconsidered postponing his Test and Super 12 sabbatical following the ACT's victory over the Sharks.

Roff, who leaves Australia for a year to play for Biarritz in France next season, sealed the Brumbies' Super 12 title with two second half tries in tonight's final.

He announced earlier this year he wanted to take a break from representative rugby and travel and decided to take a year out from playing in Australia.

On tonight's form, he will be sorely missed by the Brumbies and Wallabies next year.

"In the changeroom you regret the decisions that you make, but in the washup in the morning we'll see what happens," he said.

The depends how he feels in the morning, of course.

"I think it'll be a frenzy in Canberra tonight," Roff said.

Brumbies coach Eddie Jones, who will also leave the ACT to take up the Wallaby helm later this year, said his charges had learned a hard lesson from last year's crushing one point loss against the Crusaders.

The Brumbies were sunk when the Crusaders unsettled the favourites with brutal defence and Jones said his team had been prepared for a repeat by the giant Sharks forwards tonight.

"We learnt a hard lesson last year that the style of play in the round robins is not necessarily the style of play that wins finals," Jones said after the match with rare half-smile.

"They tried to bash us in the first half. We expected that.

"We felt, particularly considering the travel, that they'd target the first half and really try to physically intimidate us in the first half, so at half time we realised that the game was going as we thought it would and it was very important for us in the second half to start playing our game."

Skipper George Gregan said the victory was particularly satisfying given the way the Brumbies' Test trumpcards like Stephen Larkham had been targeted all season and again tonight.

Injury to centre Stirling Mortlock and Owen Finegan's suspension also stretched the Brumbies.

"Our depth has been tested this season and the players have really risen for the challenge and that's one of the reasons why we've been able to get to where we are this year," he said.

Gregan said he knew his team would be bringing home the Super 12 silverware when Roff strung two quick tries together in the second half.

"We were patient and we hung in there and that helped us in the second half," he said.

"We knew as soon as we got our fair share of ball, we'd put them under some heat."

While praising the Sharks for their amazing turnaround from last season's wooden spoon, Jones could not resist a dig at Springbok pivot in-waiting Butch James' brutal shoulder charging which flattened Larkham.

"He's a good confrontational five-eighth who can take the ball to the line, his kicking's pretty useful and he's an outstanding defender when he uses his arms," he said.