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With playmaker Kurtley Beale rehabbing from knee surgery, Waratahs coach Daryl Gibson has turned to Rob Horne as the season saviour.
A winger for the vast majority of his 29 Tests and 99 Waratah appearances, Horne will be inside centre tomorrow night for the must-win clash with the table-topping Chiefs at Allianz.
Zac Guilford will take over Horne’s wing spot, the other winger Reece Robinson has been dropped to the bench for Matt Carraro, while Wycliff Palu will be No.8 with Jed Holloway’s shoulder injury ruling him out.
Four changes at a critical time may seem drastic, but Gibson knows what he’s doing and the changes are warranted.
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On paper, the Waratahs have an impressive record against the Chiefs, winning seven out of nine in Sydney, and five of the last six overall.
This season, the Chiefs are the leading try-scorers with 52, the Waratahs with 34, but the Waratahs have the second best defence record allowing 25 tries in 11 games.
But rugby isn’t played on paper, none of those stats mean a toss, it’s what happens tomorrow night over 80 bruising minutes will be all that counts.
From an Australian point of view, only the Waratahs and Brumbies can win the Australian Conference with the automatic entry into the Super Rugby finals.
The other alternative of finishing in the top eight will be a lottery – so forget it.
The Waratahs, on 30 points, have the tougher road home of the two with the Chiefs, Sunwolves in Tokyo, Hurricanes at home, and Blues away.
The Brumbies, on 29, have the Sunwolves at home, Reds at home, Blues away, and the Force at home.
Enter Rob Horne with his renowned hard running and crash tackling, taking over the No.12 jersey from rookie David Horwitz who hasn’t been feeding game breaker Israel Folau.
Horne will do that, affording Folau invaluable space.
Gibson has made two vital positional changes in his debut season as head coach – switching Israel Folau from fullback to outside centre, and now Horne to inside.
The Folau move was a master stroke, Horne will be the same as the two positional changes team up.
Let’s face it, the Waratahs must lift at least 50 per cent on their 26-10 loss last week against the Crusaders
What was more worrying during the week was Folau’s appeal to his teammates to hold onto the ball.
That’s the problem with the Waratahs, when they lose it’s purely because they have fallen down on the rugby basics – dropping passes, losing possession, over-running the ball carrier, and missing tackles.
If they do that tomorrow night it’s the end of the season, but don’t blame Daryl Gibson.
He’s not falling down on rugby basics, he’s sitting helpless in the coaches’ box.
So it’s time for the Waratahs to stand up and be counted where it counts in the middle.
That’s the only reason why they are paid the big bucks.