Waratahs head coach Daryl Gibson has named an unchanged line-up to face the Brumbies in the final regular season match at Allianz Stadium on Saturday.
Gibson says he felt it would be unfair to drop anyone after an impressive performance last weekend against the Sunwolves.
“Part of our strategy is to try and keep combinations together, and it’s up to those players to really earn it through their performances. As a coaching team we feel that they are doing that and deserve their spots,” he said.
Gibson expects a typical Australian derby, adding: “For both sides there’s real incentive there on the outcome of the game. The Brumbies need a bonus point win to have a chance to quality and for us the real carrot of knowing if you progress in this tournament of giving yourself the opportunity through having a home semi-final potentially.”
When asked about a potential quarter-final opponent, Gibson said: “We haven’t looked beyond this game. We know there’s a lot riding on this fixture and we want to perform. The finals series will take care of itself and we will just wait and see who we get.”
Waratahs: 15 Israel Folau, 14 Cam Clark, 13 Curtis Rona, 12 Kurtley Beale, 11 Taqele Naiyaravoro, 10 Bernard Foley (c), 9 Nick Phipps, 8 Michael Wells, 7 Will Miller, 6 Ned Hanigan, 5 Rob Simmons, 4 Jed Holloway, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Damien Fitzpatrick, 1 Tom Robertson
Replacements: 16 Tolu Latu, 17 Harry Johnson-Holmes, 18 Paddy Ryan, 19 Tom Staniforth, 20 Brad Wilkin, 21 Jake Gordon, 22 Alex Newsome, 23 Bryce Hegarty
Date: Saturday, July 14
Venue: Allianz Stadium, Sydney
Kick-off: 19:45 local (10:45 BST, 09:45 GMT)
Referee: Angus Gardner
Assistant Referees: Will Houston, James Leckie
TMO: George Ayoub