Waratahs coach Rob Penney says his team has respect but no fear of the Brumbies forwards as NSW prepares to unleash a new-look pack at ANZ Stadium.
NSW have reshuffled their pack for Saturday night's clash against the competition favourites with Wallabies Tom Robertson and Jack Dempsey in for their first Super Rugby AU starts.
The Brumbies have long been consideredto have the best scrum in Australia but were bested in that area by the Rebels a fortnight ago.
Penney said while they wouldn't take the Brumbies lightly, they weren't overly intimidated by the Brumbeis pack.
"They feed off their set piece obviously, it's a big part of their energy comes from their set piece so they are quality," he said.
"The Rebels had a great outing against them, particularly at scrum time last week, good credit to particularly their young tighthead that did well.
"I think we really respect the Brumbies without being intimidated by them as a forward pack. That's a good place for us to be in, I think."
Dempsey replaces Will Harris in the starting side, with Penney keen to unleash a "big dog" against the Brumbies.
"Will's done a really good job, it was just an opportunity to continue Will's development, instead of starting, coming off the bench, putting what you'd expect to be one of the big dogs back in and unleashing him against the old foe," he said.
"There's a few layers to the rationale behind Jack coming back and Jack's trained the house down and had a real impact when he's come off the bench and he's an explosive athlete and those smaller, more dynamic blocks that he gets to contribute off the bench have worked really well for us and now he's got the opportunity to bring that right from the word go."
The return of Tom Banks to the Brumbies' starting side will be a major boost for the visitors and Penney said they would be acutely aware of his danger.
"It's critical we don't give him opportunities to kick," he said.
"He'd be one of the best going around with penalty kicks up at the corner, the Brumbies' lineout feeds off that and their maul so our discipline's a crucial part of our preparation.
"We made some steps forward in that area last week which was really pleasing and Banks' positional play and his threatening ball running is always a concern.
"The boys are aware, we've just got to mitigate as much as we can the threat he possesses by everyone doing their job properly and taking away those opportunities."
There will be plenty of fire in the clash and Brumbies coach Dan McKellar was happy to stoke that when asked about the arduous travel day they will endure.
The Brumbies will bus up and back from ANZ Stadium on Saturday in line with coronavirus protocols but that won't be an excuse for the ACT side.
"I said to the boys on Monday, as 10,11,12-year-olds we used to do it all the time," he said.
"Mum and Dad would pack up the car and off you go to play rugby leagure or union or whatever it might be and you jut got excited about it and we'll be exactly the same.
"It's the NSW Waratahs, we'd walk up there if we had to."
McKellar said the Brumbies had reached out to rugby league counterparts the Raiders for some advice on the trip.
The Raiders had until a fortnight ago been playing home games in Campbelltown in Sydney's west and have had to travel up for away games as well.
All the Super Rugby AU lineups for round three here.
The Waratahs will play the Brumbies at ANZ Stadium on Saturday July 18, kicking off at 7:15pm AEST, LIVE on Foxtel, Foxtel Now and Kayo Sports. Buy a Kayo subscription here. Buy tickets here.
