Dan McKellar has been involved in plenty of 'Tah Weeks' during his coaching career, but this one is different.
The former Brumbies coach has stepped into the sky blue polo ready to end the Waratahs' 13 game losing streak against their ACT rivals.
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“I spent many years in that camp, but now I’m here, and I’m driven and energised to do all I can to turn things around," McKellar said to reporters.
“It’s a big derby game. The New South Wales boys want to knock off their arch-rivals, and that’s the Brumbies."
McKellar was adamant the rivalry was still strong despite the one-sided nature of the results in the past five years.
“There’s no chance this rivalry dies. Both teams are desperately hungry to beat each other," he said.
"It goes back a long way, and it’s part of what makes Australian rugby great."
Past knowledge of the Brumbies means little in McKellar's eyes, although he knows what they must do to match it with the ACT side.
“I know the players, and I know what they stand for, but ‘Bernie’ [Stephen Larkham] will have a few tricks up his sleeve,” McKellar said.
“Systems change, but the DNA of the team remains the same.
“They pride themselves on physicality, and if we want to change the recent trend, we need to match them in that area.
"...We’re coming from a tough position, and as I’ve said before, Rome wasn’t built in a day.
"We’ve had a couple of good results based on effort and fight, and now we want to evolve and challenge the best teams in the competition. The Brumbies are certainly one of those.”
