Former All Black Zac Guildford will have his first outing for the Waratahs, when they meet the Brumbies in Wagga on Saturday night.
Guildford, starting at fullback, will be joined by NRL convert Reece Robinson in the side, with Robinson on the right wing.
The Wagga clash will give head coach Daryl Gibson the first glimpse of their potential in game.
Matt Carraro will be given first crack at Adam Ashley-Cooper’s vacant outside centre spot, with youngster David Horwitz at 12.
Wallabies lock Will Skelton will make his return from the pectoral injury that ended his Rugby World Cup campaign in the match.
Skelton is the only Wallabies representative in the match, with the rest being saved for later trials, as foreshadowed by Daryl Gibson through the preseason.
New recruit Bryce Hegarty will start on the bench with the Waratahs opting to play emerging NSW player Andrew Deegan at 10, with Bernard Foley yet to return from Japan.
Dave Dennis will captain the side in the absence of Michael Hooper.
Gibson said he was looking forward to the chance to road test some of his new combinations.
“This will be the first chance for the players selected to compete for spots this year so it will be good to see how they step up and handle a real-game situation,” he said.
“I’m interested to see how the combinations work too.
“The squad has trained really hard across pre-season so we’re looking forward to playing our first game in earnest.”
WARATAHS SQUAD TO FACE BRUMBIES
1. Jeremy Tilse
2. Hugh Roach
3. Paddy Ryan
4. Ned Hanigan
5. Will Skelton
6. David Dennis (C)
7. Jack Dempsey
8. Jed Holloway
9. Jake Gordon
10. Andrew Deegan
11. Andrew Kellaway
12. David Horwitz
13. Matt Carraro
14. Reece Robinson
15. Zac Guildford
RESERVES
16. Tolu Latu
17. Benn Robinson
18. Angus Ta’avao
19. Matt Sandell
20. Senio Toleafoa
21. Matt Lucas
22. Harry Jones
23. Bryce Hegarty
24. Brad Wilkin
25. Cameron Orr
26. Rowan Perry
