“We go back to playing an aerial game, go to set-piece. Trying not to play like the Drua in Fiji is really important for us next week.”

After expressing his surprise at being benched last week, loose-head prop Angus Bell returns to the starting line-up along with Mahe Vailanu, who returns from injury to start at hooker.

Julian Heaven is named on the bench after completing a 73-minute stint in his first Super Rugby start last Saturday, leaving no place for debut try-scorer Jay Fonokalafi, who was called off a building site into the Waratahs squad last week.

There is also no room for Wallabies centre Lalakai Foketi, who continues to make strong progress from a neck injury and is expected back for selection for the following week against the Rebels in Sydney.

The Drua’s Australian coach, Mick Byrne, believes that the Waratahs will not be daunted by the prospect of travelling to Fiji and remain a good side despite their recent narrow losses.

“Except for a missed penalty goal and a couple other things, they could have had two good wins, so they’re going be really disappointed. They’re going to say, this is an opportunity. We’re behind them on the ladder, so human nature says they’re probably going to look at us and go this is a game we should win, and we know that,” Byrne said.

The former Wallabies and All Blacks skills coach wouldn’t be drawn into talk about the future of Waratahs’ coach Darren Coleman when asked about the pressure that his fellow coach is facing.

“I’m not a big reader of press and stuff like that, but I think you’d have to live in a cave to not have picked up the thoughts that Darren Coleman was under pressure, from the media anyway. I don’t know if it’s internal, but that’s all I know, it’s not an arrogance,” Byrne said.

“It’s just busy, busy here. You’re busy with your own program, I’ll catch up with him on the weekend.”

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