diff --git a/lib/Catalyst.pm b/lib/Catalyst.pm
index 571b120..831d91e 100755
--- a/lib/Catalyst.pm
+++ b/lib/Catalyst.pm
@@ -3039,7 +3039,7 @@ the plugin name does not begin with C<Catalyst::Plugin::>.
                 () }
                 : $_
         } @$plugins ];
-        push @$plugins, $class->_default_plugins;
+        unshift @$plugins, $class->_default_plugins;
         $plugins = Data::OptList::mkopt($plugins || []);
 
         my @plugins = map {