Waratahs coach Darren Coleman will be forced to coach from his living room as the club prepare to travel north to face the Reds.
Coleman was deemed a close COVID contact and will miss Saturday's grudge match at Suncorp Stadium, with assistants Jason Gilmore and Chris Whittaker set to temporarily reprise their roles from last year.
“It’ll be killing him that he can’t be at the game,” Whittaker said to reporters. “He loves everything about this team and I’d hate to be around him at this house at the moment.
“He’s still behind us running the show. The beauty of Zoom and all that technology is that DC is still heavily involved.
“The beauty of is at the back end of the week, most of the prep work is already out of the way so it’s about the routine of leading into the game so it’s clockwork at the moment.
“He’ll still give us key messages (during the game) what he thinks, I’ll think we’ll be talking throughout the game but it’s important to still get his input because it’s his team and he cares so much about it.”
Coleman isn't the only Waratah caught up in isolation, with centre Izaia Perese also set to miss the game.
Perese's exclusion allows Jamie Roberts to start his first game for the club after featuring in the opening rounds during Super Rugby Pacific from the bench.
The Welsh legend sensed the importance of the game from the start of the week, recognising the deep rivalry between the two sides.
“You get that vibe when you come in on a Monday similar to big games back home,” Roberts notes. “You’re certainly clued into that first meeting of how important it is.
“I played up in Roma in that trial match and came off the bench at Leichhardt against the Reds well aware of the rivalry which is great for the game and the lads who are playing in the game.
“For us to go up there and challenge them on their home patch is an awesome experience for us.
“One of the reasons I came down here is to test myself in this team and league…you want to play alongside fellow midfielders like Lalakai (Foketi) and Izzy (Perese) who have been great in the opening rounds, helping them develop and learn of those guys.
“To also test myself against opposition like Hunter (Paisami) and Hamish (Stewart) as well, that’s why I love playing the game because you test yourself against these guys and you see whether you’ve got it and challenge those types of players.”
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Roberts is joined in the starting side by Tane Edmed, with Dave Porecki set to captain the side as Jed Holloway and Angus Bell reverts to the bench.
“He just backs himself and I love seeing that in younger players,” Roberts remarked about Edmed, 14 years his junior.
“He never doubts his decision making - when to kick, passes or runs as a flyhalf and I love that about Tane.
“I’ve trained quite a lot with Tane over the past 5-6 weeks running plays against the starting side and now we get our chance together.
“It’ll be nice playing with Tane. We’ve got a bit of familiarity from the first couple of months. I love his confidence, he’s a good runner of the ball and he’s quick but (also) his kicking game is spot on and his decision making is going to prove pivotal.
