Tahs get chance to show off best

RUGBY UNION: The undeniably talented but occasionally flaky NSW Waratahs regard tonight’s Super Rugby quarterfinal as their biggest opportunity to realise their full potential.

The clash with New Zealand’s Highlanders at Sydney’s Allianz Stadium will be the Waratahs’ first playoff match in three years.

While they topped the Australian conference and piled on plenty of points during the season, NSW also produced the odd shocker – most recently in last weekend’s home loss to the Brumbies.

“We’re still trying to find that potential and I think this weekend that’s the biggest opportunity for us,” Waratahs hooker Damien Fitzgerald said.

“We want to go out and display exactly what we think this team is capable of.”

The Tahs beat the Highlanders convincingly in Sydney earlier this season but the Kiwi side played most of the match with 14 men.

“They don’t tend to stick to a structure so they are actually quite hard to preview,” Fitzgerald said.

“They tend to play what’s in front of them a lot, but they do it really, really well.”

While Fitzgerald will pay his 50th match for the Tahs, promoted winger Alex Newsome will step out for his 11th – after 13 with the Western Force.

It will be the biggest game yet for 23-year-old Newsome, who hails from Glen Innes in the New England region of country NSW.

He was a member of the NSW under-20s team and watched from the grandstand the last time the Waratahs won the Super Rugby title in 2014.

He made four starts for NSW earlier this year, with his last run-on appearance coming in a mid-season 29-0 loss to the Lions.

“I had a few things to work on in the middle of the season and now I’m back playing some good footy,” Newsome said.

“Just getting back to what I know works for me, playing my game and getting my involvements up.

“The last few weeks off the bench I’ve been touching the ball a lot and I’ve been making impacts on the team.

“I’m confident in my game and how I’ve grown over the last couple of years.”

He replaces Cam Clark in a back three boasting superstar fullback Israel Folau and winger Taqele Naiyaravoro – the man who recently broke Folau’s record for most Super Rugby tries in a season by a Waratah.

“Playing with the likes of Taqele and Israel, powerhouses those two, I feel like I complement them well with my game, so looking forward to joining forces on the weekend,” Newsome said.