PERTH, Australia, March 2, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Queensland Reds coach Les Kiss declared Super Rugby was "alive, healthy and kicking" after their last-gasp win over Western Force, with the Pacific tournament proving far more competitive this season.

A coverted 80th-minute try from Wallabies winger Filipo Daugunu earned them a pulsating 28-24 victory in Perth on Saturday evening -- the latest in a series of thrilling games across the opening three rounds.

Kiss, seen a potential replacement when Australia coach Joe Schmidt departs later this year, admitted his side "won ugly" after battling back from a 14-0 deficit.

"But it was a beautiful win too," he said. "Can that exist in the same space? I'm not sure.

"But that's what this comp is offering, we've already seen it, there is jeopardy... teams can come back from nowhere, there is no given at the moment, and that's in every game so far.

"So Super Rugby is alive and healthy and kicking, and showed it again (in Perth). We didn't expect anything less."

The demise of the debt-ridden Melbourne Rebels last season has bolstered the stocks of the remaining four Australian teams, who snapped up players left without a club.

On the evidence so far, it has made for a more attractive spectacle with games closer than ever.

Defeat denied Force three straight wins to start a season for the first time in their 20-year history, and it was hard to swallow for coach Simon Cron.

"This one hurts, and you can see it in the faces of the players," he said. "It really hurts them that we've let that one go.

"So that's what I'm happy about -- that it hurts them, so that they will get up and go again and learn from it, and we'll get better as a team."

The Reds travel to New Zealand next to meet a Canterbury Crusaders side who had a bye this week after a win and a loss to open their season.

Force jet across Australia to Sydney where the unbeaten NSW Waratahs await.