The Waratahs are weighing up how many of their stars will make the trip to Christchurch with their finals spot already locked up.
Waratahs coach Darren Coleman earmarked this game as an ideal spot to rotate players after they ensure their spot in the top eight with a 32-18 win over Fijian Drua.
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They opted for a similar policy during their last trip to NZ, however, head there this time with a much healthier roster.
They were thumped by the Blues 55-21 last month, with Coleman naming three debutants along with three on starting debut.
Since then, the likes of Hugh Sinclair (shoulder) and Ned Hanigan (HIA) have returned to the forward back whilst Nemani Nadolo (knee) and Take Edmed (back) are slowly making their returns to full training.
“We had a massive workload physically on the weekend,” assistant coach Jason Gilmore explained. “We’ve been up now for probably a month now and I know just from the tackle stats from the last three weeks, we’ve been in a lot of contact.
“There will be a couple of boys, not so much from a Wallabies resting protocols but guys that have been chalking up some big numbers that we’ll have to manage.”
Izaia Perese is one of few to have played every game for the Waratahs, although came off the field last week with back spasms whilst Langi Gleeson struggled with cramps towards the end.
Superstar duo Michael Hooper and Max Jorgensen will likely see reduced minutes as they deal with the stress of Super Rugby after opposite ends of their careers.
“The sheer amount of work ‘Hoops’ gets through is incredible and he could easily pull the jersey on and keep going for another six weeks, that’s the style of bloke he is, but we’ll probably look to give him less minutes in a game or rest him, we’ll have a look at it," Gilmore added,
“‘Jorgo’s’ probably been playing a bit more footy than what we’d hoped, with Will Harrison going down with a knee and Kurtley (Beale) being unavailable. We don’t have much depth there at the moment at fullback, so he’s carrying a load for us.”
The Waratahs are taking inspiration from last year's shock win at Leichhardt Oval as they hunt for their first win in Christchurch since 2004.
“It’s a big challenge but a good one. We’ll take a lot of confidence out of last year,” Gilmore said.
“People probably doubted us a bit going into that game last year and we came away with a good result. We know it’s going to be a tough game, Canterbury at home is probably the hardest game you can get in Super Rugby, behind Fiji.
“We’ve got good momentum and we’re feeling good…you’ve got to be positive with the ball, I don’t think you can hand it back to them without having a plan.
“Last year we attacked them really well and we got them on the back foot early with that set-piece try with Dylan Pietsch under the sticks.
“You’ve definitely got to beat them to the punch in attack and defensively, you’ve just go to be so sharp and not just in and around your toughness in contact but you’re awareness around the quick throw and changing the point of attack.”
